The Ghost of Ransom Creek
by Jestress
Summary: Lee and Amanda spend Halloween in a haunted mansion with a ghost, a group of spies, and a possible traitor. Now complete! Happy Halloween, everyone! :D
1. A Pleasant Drive

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Scarecrow and Mrs. King or any of the characters from the series. In other words, if you recognize it from the original series, it isn't mine. This story is for entertainment purposes only. I didn't make any money off of writing this, and it's not likely that anyone will be sending me any in the near future. :(

Speaking of the future, the playing card fortune telling method (which I used with some slight variations) comes from cafeastrology dot com.

Jestress does not claim that it is possible to see into the future or even a good idea if you could. If you try this fortune telling method, Jestress doesn't promise that anything you predict will be true or even make sense (when Jestress tested this for research purposes, the cards told her that she was once widowed or divorced, which is impossible because she's never been married :P, stacking the deck provides much more accurate results). Playing cards are not the best basis for making important life decisions. And Jestress does not recommend Ouija boards because they're just dang creepy. O.o

Story is probably rated a little higher than it needs to be, but I err on the side of caution.

 **Explanation:** It's that time of year again, folks! Lee and Amanda's Halloween adventures continue into the fourth season. In this story, they're dating but not yet engaged. I picture it as taking place not long before Nightcrawler. Khell inspired part of this story when we were talking about Halloween traditions, and she helped me to fill in parts of Francine's background. Thanks, Khell! :) Also special thanks to Learjet for being my beta. :) Happy Halloween, everyone!

 **The Ghost of Ransom Creek**

 **By Jestress**

 **Chapter 1: A Pleasant Drive**

Autumn beauty was everywhere as Lee skillfully steered the 'Vette down the country roads. The trees were blazing with reds and yellows, and there was that distinctive chill in the air that comes around Halloween. The crispness of the air made him feel alive, but not nearly as much as the beautiful woman sitting beside him in the passenger seat.

They were on their way to a countryside mansion called Ransom Creek that had been turned into a hotel and conference center for a top-secret meeting with representatives from MI6 and the CIA. Even though their trip was business, Lee welcomed the chance to spend extra time alone with Amanda. Chances like that didn't come along nearly often enough. The trip to the mansion and back would give them plenty of time to talk in the car, and they would also have the opportunity to stop off for coffee or anything else that struck their fancy. But, for the last few miles, Amanda had been uncharacteristically silent.

Lee snuck a glance at Amanda. She was pretty in a pink skirt and sweater set, looking sweet and feminine. She was also looking a little pensive.

"Thinking about missing Halloween with the boys?" he asked her gently.

Since she joined the Agency, it had become apparent to Amanda that holidays and special occasions with her family were never going to be the same. In fact, it was becoming rare for her to participate in family events without business intruding in some way.

"A little," she admitted. "But, one thing that you learn when you have children is that nothing ever stays the same for long. They grow up and start becoming more independent, and soon they're off doing their own thing instead of spending time with you."

"The boys are spending Halloween with their dad, aren't they?" Lee asked.

Since Joe had returned to the States, the boys had been spending more time with him. They saw him regularly on weekends, and Joe and Amanda tried to share them on special occasions, like birthdays and holidays. It only made sense that they would want to spend time with him, and Amanda fully supported it. However, in spite of the amicable relationship between Amanda and Joe, things could still get a little awkward at times. On the one hand, Joe having the kids left Amanda free to spend time with Lee, both on and off the job, something that they both appreciated. On the other hand, Amanda sometimes felt a little left out when her boys went off to have fun without her, and Lee privately felt a little jealous.

Lee knew that Amanda had no interest in remarrying Joe, but he was a little concerned that Joe might still be hoping that she would change her mind. The boys would certainly love it if their parents got back together. Lee hadn't actually established a relationship with the boys yet. He and Amanda were taking things slowly, enjoying their relationship, but Lee knew that he couldn't wait too long to start building connections with Amanda's family. He only hoped that the boys would come to accept him in time and not see him as an intruder on their family scene.

"Joe is taking the boys to this big haunted house in Alexandria," Amanda was saying. "I'm not really sorry to be missing that. I've heard that some of the things they have in it are really disgusting, like bloody bodies and maniacs with chainsaws, the kind of stuff that you see in horror movies these days. The attraction is really geared more for teenagers, and I'm concerned that the boys are really too young for it. After all, Jamie's only eleven!"

"Did you tell Joe that you were concerned?" Lee asked.

"Yes, but by then, he'd already promised the boys that he'd take them," Amanda said. "Apparently, Philip's been working on him for weeks, telling him how great it is and how everyone in his class is going to go and that some of them went last year and had a great time. I didn't know anything about until it was too late, and now that he's promised the boys, he doesn't want to go back on his promise. Joe doesn't really know much about the haunted house, and he thinks it sounds harmless enough, but I still don't like the sound of it. Joan Peters, on the PTA, said that her oldest son went with friends last year and had trouble sleeping for a week, and he's two years older than Philip."

Lee nodded thoughtfully. It didn't surprise him that Joe wasn't as up on local events and their age-appropriateness because he'd been away so long.

"Of course, I know why Philip really wants to go," Amanda continued. "Linda Montez's older brother is working there. He's dressed as a zombie or something, and Jamie says that Linda is planning to get her brother to take her there on Halloween. Philip wants to prove to Linda that he's cool by showing up and demonstrating that fake monsters don't spook him a bit. Jamie's only going along with him on this because he doesn't want to look like a fraidy-cat."

Lee laughed. He understood the feeling, and truth be told, he'd done dumber things to impress girls when he was Philip's age. But, maybe this experience would be good for him.

"Well, look at it this way," Lee said. "The boys may find out that the haunted house isn't so bad, Philip will make a good impression on Linda, and Jamie will get a boost to his self-confidence."

"And if the haunted house is too scary and the boys are traumatized by it?"

"Then, the boys will have learned some valuable lessons. Philip will learn to be a little more careful about what he does when he tries to impress a girl because it can be pretty embarrassing if you fall on your face in right in front of her, and Jamie will learn that he shouldn't let others talk him into doing things he doesn't want to do just because he's worried about what they might think of him."

Amanda smiled a little. "When you put it like that, I guess it wouldn't be so bad. Those are good life lessons. You don't think that they'll be too traumatized?"

"They might be for a week or so, like that other boy you heard about, but they'll get over it, and if the boys get really scared by this, Joe will be more careful about what he promises them in the future."

"I guess I'm feeling nostalgic about when the boys were little, and they were happy when I'd take them trick-or-treating. Sometimes, Philip would ask me to tell him scary stories, but I never made them too scary. Simpler times."

"As you say, kids grow up. Scary things and complications become more appealing. Especially romantic complications."

Lee and Amanda shared a glance, and Lee took one hand off the steering wheel to give her hand a squeeze. Once again, Lee was glad that he and Amanda didn't have to travel to the meeting with Billy and Francine.

"So, tell me," Amanda said, "what was it that you did to impress the girls when you were young?"

"A lot of really stupid stuff," Lee admitted. "Then, I became an agent."

"To impress girls?" Amanda asked with raised eyebrows.

"No. That's just a bonus," Lee said.

Amanda laughed.

"You know," she said, "I've been reading this pamphlet about the place we're going to be staying, and it turns out that there's a ghost story associated with it. A tale of tragic love."

"There is? Where did you get that?"

"I stopped by the AAA office the other day to renew my membership, and when I saw the pamphlet with the hotel's name on it, I picked it up."

Lee chuckled. "You work for a government intelligence agency, which provides you with a profile of the house and its owner, and you pick up a pamphlet from AAA."

"Consider it gathering additional intelligence," Amanda said. "It was the only one they had left since the owners haven't sent any new ones for over a year."

"According to Billy, the woman who owns the place was trying to turn it into kind of a resort and retreat center, but she didn't have much luck with it," Lee said. "It's a little too off the beaten path to attract much attention from tourists."

Fortunately, Cynthia Ransom, the owner of the mansion, just happened to be the fiancé of Senator Benjamin Kahler, who was on the security committee arranging this conference. He suggested it as an ideal spot to meet because it was kind of isolated, away from prying eyes. Keeping intruders away shouldn't be too difficult, which was fortunate, because one of Lee's functions at the conference was to coordinate the security teams that would be patrolling the perimeter, keeping the attendees safe. It was the reason why he and Amanda were heading there earlier than the others. If the conference was a success, Cynthia's mansion might just become a center for government conferences on a regular basis.

"In the pamphlet, Cynthia Ransom tries to emphasize the history of the mansion," Amanda said. "It was once part of a large plantation, built in 1768, but it was never very successful. Twice, parts of the mansion were damaged by fire and had to be rebuilt, and it was a drain on the family fortune. Over the years, much of the land was sold off, although it was still a working plantation during the Civil War. At that time, one of Cynthia's ancestors, Josiah Ransom, was a high-ranking officer in the Confederate army. He fell in love with a beautiful young woman named Charlotte Babcock. It turned out that Charlotte had been recruited as a spy for the Union and that she had gotten close to him to learn about the movements of his troops."

"Some romance," Lee commented.

"It gets more romantic," Amanda said. "Charlotte actually fell in love with Josiah and decided to tell him the truth. By then, he was so much in love with her that he didn't care. To avoid either of them being arrested for treason and bringing scandal on their families, they decided that Josiah would turn over the plantation to his younger brother and that the two of them would run away together and start a new life somewhere else."

"But you said it was tragic love, so I guess they got caught."

"Mmm-hmm. Josiah's superior officer found out about the romance and their plans to run away, and he assumed that Josiah was defecting to the Union side. He showed up the night they were going to leave. Nobody is quite sure what happened next, but apparently, he tried to kill Charlotte for being a spy and Josiah fought him off. Both the officer and Josiah were found dead the next day. Josiah had stabbed his superior, and the officer had shot him before dying himself."

"Sad."

"Charlotte completely disappeared. She probably wasn't killed because they didn't find her body, but no one ever saw her or heard from her again. Some people think she went back to being a spy. Others say that she started a new life under another identity. But, they say that Josiah's ghost still walks the halls of the mansion at night, searching for his lost love."

"Who are 'they'?"

"What?"

"Who are 'they' that say all this stuff?"

Amanda looked down at the pamphlet. "It doesn't say. The Ransoms, I guess. Why? You think it's all made up?"

"There are no such things as ghosts, Amanda."

Amanda laughed. "Well, of course, not! I don't believe in ghosts. But, the story is still pretty romantic."

Lee smiled a little, but he had to admit that the story's tragic ending bothered him. The spy business was dangerous, and he well knew that romantic entanglements, especially with the wrong people, could be dangerous.

"I'm more interested in current romances than past ones," Lee said. "It's only too bad that we're on a work trip rather than a personal one."

"I know," Amanda said. "I have to admit that I'm kind of excited, though."

"You are?"

"Yeah! I mean, we've worked with British agents before, like Emily and James Brand—"

"Brand was an accountant, remember?"

"Well, yeah, but still, this is much more exciting, a joint mission between the Agency, the CIA, and MI6!"

"We probably won't be included in the actual mission," Lee said. "The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the kind of help that the Agency will provide. We might offer field personnel, or we might just end up coordinating things on a strategic level."

A few weeks prior, a joint mission between the CIA and MI6 had gone horribly wrong, and an MI6 agent had been killed. Lee had never met the man who had died, but he still felt the loss of someone who had shared the same profession, the same dedication to serve his country.

For the past two years, a large international smuggling ring had been transporting stolen goods between Europe and the United States in order to fund terrorist activities. MI6 agents had gotten a lead on some of the top members of the group and a large transaction that would take place between smugglers in London and some wealthy American buyers. MI6 requested some assistance from the CIA in apprehending the smugglers and their buyers, but somehow, the smugglers had discovered that MI6 was on to them. The agents who were going to make the arrests had walked into an ambush. In the end, they were fortunate that there was only one fatality, although no one was feeling fortunate about it.

So far, they had been unable to tell how the smugglers knew there was going to be a bust. Also, the people who had been in the field on the last mission were now known to the smugglers by sight. New intelligence indicated that there might be another opportunity for a bust soon, but with the leak still unidentified, the CIA and MI6 thought that it would be best to call in outside help for assistance. In particular, Richard Baudin, the CIA mission head, was friends with Senator Kahler, who suggested that they contact the Agency and further suggested his fiance's home/hotel as a suitable meeting site. The Intelligence Oversight Committee (which Senator Kahler was part of) had strongly recommended reevaluating their information sources in case one of them was the source of the leak and recruiting a completely new set of field agents.

Bringing in outside help was a sensible move and the Agency, which had its own independent sources of information and experienced field agents, was a good choice, but Lee was still concerned. Until the leak was identified, any mission that involved the same group would be risky. Fortunately, Billy was a cautious type, and Lee doubted that he give into pressure from the committee or from either of the other intelligence organizations to provide them with manpower until it was safe to do so. The last thing he wanted to see was more dead agents.

Lee glanced at Amanda again. He had some qualms about bringing her into such a volatile situation, but Amanda had never been one to shrink away from dangerous situations. Besides, after all this time of working with her, he couldn't imagine proceeding with a mission without his partner.

"This is going to be exciting!" Amanda said brightly.

"Just be careful," Lee reminded her. "Remember that someone who was once part of this group died on their last mission. These cooperative assignments can be tricky even at the best of times, and feelings are running high now."

"I'll remember," Amanda said solemnly.

Lee certainly hoped that she would. Amanda had a habit of attracting trouble instead of avoiding it. At least, they would be together the entire time. He would just have to keep his partner close. Lee grinned, liking the image that came to mind.

"You know," he said, "I once tried to learn to play the ukulele when I was young in order to impress a girl."

"Really?"

"Yep. Turns out that I'm not musical. But, then I learned how to give the best neck rubs, and that worked better."

"I think I might have to see that."

"Oh, I'll make sure that you get a chance later . . ."


	2. Ransom Creek

**Chapter 2: Ransom Creek**

Ransom Creek wasn't quite what Amanda had expected it would be. From the pictures in the tourist pamphlet she'd picked up, she was already aware that it wasn't the sort of Gone with the Wind white-washed plantation house with high columns that she had pictured when Lee had first told her about the assignment. Most of the house was made of red brick with arches over the entrance and climbing wisteria vines in purple and white.

What surprised Amanda was just what a jumble the house looked like in person. It was a mixture of styles because parts of the mansion had been destroyed and rebuilt over the years. The pictures in the pamphlets were taken very carefully to show the best parts of the house: the arched entry, the balcony on the second floor, the wide veranda on the eastern side of the mansion, the cupola over the west wing. Now, seeing them combined with differently-shaped windows in different wings, floors that didn't seem to quite match up with each other, and an odd effect created by the different heights of different parts of the house: the two-story east side, the three-story middle with a peaked roof, and the high cupola on the western end was a little unnerving. No wonder the Ransoms were having trouble making the place work as a resort. That, and the fact that they were out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded mainly by farms.

Lee gave the place a once-over when he got out of the car. He had seen it the week before when he had come to oversee the installation of the new security system for the mansion and make preparations for the security team. The security personnel were nowhere in sight, but Amanda knew that was part of the idea.

"I don't know about ghosts, but I don't think I'd want to haunt the place too long myself," he said.

"It's . . . interesting," Amanda said. "The interior pictures in my pamphlet looked much nicer."

"Yes, it does look much nicer inside," Lee said. "The food is pretty good, too." He offered her his arm gallantly, asking, "Shall we go in?"

Amanda took his arm and grinned. Lee led her through the arches to the front door. The double doors were about two feet taller than Lee with lion's head knockers. At first, Amanda wasn't sure if they were expected to use them to knock, but Lee located the smaller, less obvious doorbell next to the door. They heard a distant bonging sound, and the door was opened by a pleasant-looking blonde about Amanda's age. She had large, very dark brown eyes and wore a pretty print dress with yellow flowers on it and a string of pearls around her neck. Classy and conservative, Amanda thought.

"Yes?" she asked cautiously.

"Lee Stetson and Amanda King," Lee said.

"Oh, yes. I remember you, Mr. Stetson. We've been expecting you," she said. "Please, come in."

She opened the door wider, and Amanda could now see the security personnel in the entry hall behind her. She'd known that the team would be arriving before they did.

"Thank you," Lee said. He led Amanda inside but released her arm as their hostess closed the door behind them. They were on duty now, and they had to be all-business.

It was a pity because the brochures hadn't exaggerated the interior of the mansion at all. It was beautiful. Just the sort of place that would be perfect for a handsome, chivalrous man to lead his lady in long, sweeping skirts up the grand staircase. Too bad that she was only wearing a knee-length skirt, and they had to check in with the security team.

"I'm Cynthia Ransom," their hostess introduced herself, shaking their hands. "Ben—I mean, Senator Kahler is here. The others haven't arrived yet. Most of them will arrive at 4 o'clock, right?"

"Yes," Lee said. "You said that the Senator is already here?"

"That's right. He came early. We were just having some coffee and sandwiches in the drawing room, to your right. You're welcome to join us, if you like."

It was about their usual lunch time, but Lee and Amanda had already stopped for coffee and sandwiches on their way there.

"No, thank you," Lee said. "We've already eaten, and there are things we need to take care of."

"Is your luggage in your car?"

"Yes," Lee said. All he had brought in with him was a briefcase with some papers.

"If you leave your key with me, I'll have Bert take it up to your rooms," Cynthia said.

"Bert?"

"He works for me. He's been cleared by security."

"Oh, Albert Whiting. Yes, I remember him," Lee said, handing her the key. "Alright. Thank you."

"Just one moment, and I'll give you your room keys," Cynthia said.

She went to a little box mounted on the wall next to the front door. Opening it with a key of her own, she removed two of the keys hanging on the pegs inside. The keys had little labels attached to the fobs.

Cynthia handed one of the keys to Amanda and said, "You'll be in the Rose Room at the end of the hall on the second floor. The name is on the door." Turning to Lee, she said, "Your room is the Bluebird Room near the top of the stairs. I'll have Bert leave your car keys on your bedside table. Dinner will be ready at seven o'clock."

"Thank you," Lee said.

"I hope you both will be comfortable here," Cynthia said. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

"I'm sure we will be comfortable," Amanda said. "Thank you."

Cynthia left with Lee's keys, and Amanda smiled at Lee. "Very efficient, isn't she?"

"Yes," Lee said. "The only staff at this place are her, her mother Abigail, Albert Whiting, and Wendy Nicholson. Albert is a combination cook and handyman, and Wendy is a housekeeper. She's also Abigail's sister."

"Not a lot of staff for an event like this," Amanda commented.

"The less staff, the better," Lee said. "Less people to clear through security. If this becomes a regular spot for government meetings, they may need more, but for now, it's a nice, small group, well-managed, and sheltered from outside influence."

"Then, you don't think that there will be any security problems?" Amanda asked.

"I don't think so," Lee said softly, "but keep on your toes."

"Right."

Turning to the nearest security agent, Lee asked, "Is the entire team assembled, Glenn?"

"Yes, sir," Glenn said. "Everyone is in position. We tested the security system again this morning, as you ordered, and we reviewed our scheduled rotations."

"Excellent," Lee said. "Amanda and I will pay our respects to the Senator and then make the rounds before the others get here. At what time did the Senator arrive?"

"He was here when we got here, sir, and we arrived at nine in the morning."

"So he's been here all day?" Lee asked.

According to the grandfather clock in the entry hall, it was about 12:30 pm.

"Yes, sir."

Lee frowned. "I see. Thank you."

"Is that a problem?" Amanda whispered to Lee as they walked to the drawing room door.

"No, it's just annoying," Lee whispered back. "Senator Kahler is engaged to Cynthia Ransom, so if he wanted to visit her before the meeting, it's understandable. But, we're tightening security on this place, so he should have mentioned that he was coming early."

The drawing room was beautifully furnished in 19th century style. Amanda wasn't an expert, but she thought that many of the furnishings were probably genuine antiques, or at least very good reproductions. If Cynthia's plans to turn the mansion in to a meeting center didn't work out, she could probably make a lot of money just selling the furniture. Although, she probably felt as nostalgic about them as she did about the house itself.

The walls of the drawing room were a cheery yellow that reminded Amanda of Cynthia's dress. The room had high windows with long ivory-colored drapes. There was a fireplace at the far end, and above it hung a portrait of a woman with blonde hair, similar to Cynthia's, only she wore a long, old-fashioned white gown. The woman in the portrait was seated in a garden and appeared to be having a conversation with some birds on a nearby branch. The part of the picture that really caught Amanda's attention were the woman's eyes. They were unusually dark for a woman with blonde hair and very striking. They looked a little like Cynthia's, too.

Lee didn't seem interested in the room or the portrait, however. His attention was focused on the dark-haired man eating sandwiches and drinking coffee on one of the old-fashioned sofas. Senator Kahler stood up when they entered the room and shook Lee's hand with his non-sandwich-holding hand.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Stetson," Senator Kahler said.

"Nice to see you, too, Senator," Lee said. "This is my partner, Amanda King."

"It's a pleasure," Senator Kahler said, offering Amanda his hand. "Would you like some coffee or something to eat?"

"No, but thank you anyway," Amanda said.

Once the introductions were over, Lee commented, "You're here early for the meeting."

"Yes," Senator Kahler said. "I believe that it's better to be early than late, and I wanted a chance to see Cynthia before we got started. You're a little early, too, aren't you?"

"Amanda and I are just checking the security arrangements."

"Well, I'm sure you'll do a fine job."

Lee smiled. "We appreciate your confidence in us. Sorry to interrupt your lunch. If you'll excuse us, we're going to review our security team before the others arrive."

"Of course," Senator Kahler said, taking his seat again. "I'll see you later."

Amanda and Lee left the drawing room, and Lee spoke to Glenn again.

"How are the radios working?" Lee asked.

"Good, sir. I have the ones for you and Mrs. King here."

"Thanks." Lee handed one to Amanda and showed her how to use it. "This is the main channel we're using. You can send a message to a specific receiver by inputting the number. Yours is number 102, and I have 101. You can also send an alert by pressing this button and inputting the alert code. I have a sheet of alert codes for you to use. I'll show that to you later. Do you understand basically how it works?"

"Yes, I think so."

"If there's a breach in the security system, it will automatically send an alert signal to your radio, and every other radio receiver."

"What kind of alerts will the security system send?"

"If a door or window has been forcibly opened, it will send a break-in alert and a number which specifies the location of the break-in. There also codes for fire and other emergencies. Those alerts are also covered on the list. I'll give you a copy to keep and review."

"Good."

"Let's start by going on a tour of the house, and I'll show you where our security guards are stationed."

The rest of the house was as charmingly old-fashioned as the drawing room. The ballroom, which also opened onto the entry hall, had white paneling with brilliant blue walls and a large chandelier directly overheard. Once, the chandelier would have held candles, but now it just turned on with the wall switch. It wasn't as large as some of the ones Amanda had seen in period movies, but it was still a pretty good-sized room with plenty of space for dancing. Since dancing wasn't part of the activities for this meeting, they had turned it into a meeting room with a large table in the center. It made the room less romantic, but definitely more useful. The piano that stood near the end of the room seemed a little odd for a top-secret meeting room, but it was probably just too hard to move it.

The dining room was next to the ballroom. Like the ballroom, it had wide double doors that would easily accommodate the large hoop skirts that women in this house must have worn once.

Across from the drawing room was a smaller, more formal parlor done in a bright turquoise. Amanda remembered that the house dated from before the American Revolution. On one of the historic tours Amanda had been on with the boys, she knew that bright, bold colors were popular in the late 18th century, after the war ended. That was probably when the color scheme for the house was chosen, and it probably hadn't changed much since. At least, not in this part of the house.

The library next to the parlor had tall shelves of books built into the walls. There was a desk near the window and a small table with chairs in the center of the room. There was also a small couch and a couple of comfortable reading chairs.

"We considered using this room for the meeting," Lee explained, "but it wouldn't be big enough. That's why we chose the ballroom. We could have used the dining room, but after spending hours of planning and discussion in one place, having meals there too would be too much."

"That makes sense," Amanda said as she walked along the shelves.

They had a good selection of books on various subjects. Considering the historic nature of the house, Amanda had thought that most of the books would be antiques or about history, but most of them were modern, and although the history section was sizable, there were also other subjects. There was a section about gardening, and a fair number of books looked like someone's old college textbooks about science, mathematics, or various languages. They weren't very neatly organized, and half the collection was fiction, mostly mysteries and romance novels. Amanda's mother would love it.

Lee said, "The east wing is where the kitchen and laundry rooms are. The Ransoms, Mrs. Nicholson, and Albert all have their rooms there, too, on the second floor. Those areas are off limits to guests, and they've asked that security intrude as little as possible."

"I can understand that," Amanda said.

"The west wing of the house has public rooms."

"Oh, I read about that in the pamphlet," Amanda said. "That's the newest part of the house, built after the last fire. The pamphlet said that there's offices, a game room, and a sun room there on the first floor. That's also where the cupola is. Can you see the cupola from the inside?"

"Yes, it's at the end of the upstairs hallway. There's kind of a sitting room with large windows, and you can get a good view of the area from there. Come on, I'll show you."

They started on the lower level of the west wing. Lee let Amanda explore the rooms there at her own pace. They glanced into the offices, two of them, equipped with some basic supplies in case guests wanted private spaces to work. Cynthia's private office was next door to those and was kept locked.

"I could open it for you if you wanted," Lee said. "Look at these old locks on the doors! They might be fine for a hotel for ordinary civilians, but I think if they want this place to be a government conference center, they should install better hardware. The locks on the bedrooms aren't much better."

"You mean people can come in even if you lock the door?" Amanda asked.

"Well, they'd have to pick the lock," Lee said. "My point is really that these old locks aren't that difficult to force or pick. There are newer models that would be more secure. I mentioned that to Cynthia when I was here last week, but there wasn't time to change them all. We did put in better hardware on the outside doors and windows. There just wasn't time to redo all the interior doors, and it would be quite a lot to spend if this place doesn't turn out to be a regular conference center after all."

Amanda admired the game room and the exercise room. There was also a cozy living room with a tv. The sun room was at the end of the hallway. Comfortable chairs faced the large windows, which had a nice view of the lawn. Toward the back of the house, Amanda could see the swimming pool, covered over because it was too cold, and a couple of out buildings that Lee said held gardening supplies and lawn furniture and an old stable that had been converted into a garage. It would be even prettier in spring or summer, Amanda thought, when there would be flowers on the bushes, but the autumn leaves were making an impressive display.

"The cupola room is right above this one," Lee said. "If you like this view, you'll love the view from there."

Lee was right that the view was impressive. The comfortable sitting room also featured large windows, and the inside of the cupola was painted blue with gold stars.

"Cynthia told me that the painted ceiling was her father's idea," Lee said, his voice echoing slightly. Even though the room was carpeted, the cupola helped to amplify sounds.

"It's lovely," Amanda said. Her voiced echoed a little, too.

"Our bedrooms are down the hall, in the main part of the house," Lee said.

Most of the rooms in the upper part of the west wing were being used for storage, although there were a couple of bedrooms there as well. Lee pointed out Senator Kahler's room as they passed it.

"He's the only one sleeping in this part of the house," Lee said. "Most of us are on the second floor in the main part. Watch your step."

As Amanda had guessed, the floors of the different sections of the house didn't align properly, and they had to go up a couple of steps to get into the main part of the house.

"Our security teams are using the bedrooms on the third floor," Lee continued. "There's going to be a day shift and a night shift, so the night shift will be sleeping during the day. This is my room, here. Come on in, and I'll show you the security schedule."

As its name indicated, the walls of the Bluebird Room were completely blue, and there were bird pictures all over. As promised, Lee's suitcase was there, resting on the blanket chest at the foot of his bed, and his keys were on the night stand. There was a small writing desk near the window, and Lee set his briefcase on it, opening it to find the papers he wanted to show Amanda.

Amanda's admiring gaze traveled over the old-fashioned furnishings and the pictures on the walls. They came to rest on a small framed poem among the pictures: Ode to a Bluebird by Charlotte Ransom.

"Lee, look!" Amanda said. "It's a poem by Charlotte Ransom."

Lee came over to look at it.

"Huh," he said. Lee wasn't much for poetry.

"But, it's by Charlotte Ransom," Amanda said.

"Yeah," Lee said. The neat calligraphy of the poem said so. He didn't see why Amanda found that so interesting.

"Charlotte's the woman from the ghost story," Amanda explained.

Lee looked at the poem again. "It says 'Charlotte Ransom.' I thought you said her name was 'Charlotte Babcock.'"

Amanda pulled the pamphlet from her purse and looked at it again.

"That's right," she said. "How funny."

"Unless 'Ransom' was her married name," Lee suggested.

"It can't be," Amanda said. "It was a tale of tragic love, remember? Josiah died before they could get married."

Lee shrugged. "Maybe it's just a coincidence, then. Or maybe it's all just a story. Anyway, we've got work to do."

The two of them reviewed the schedule for the security guards. There would be guards stationed near every door on the ground floor, changing out periodically. Lee also had patrols for different parts of the grounds and house. The outside patrols would make regular sweeps of the grounds and inspect the outbuildings. Inside, the downstairs sections were patrolled more often than upstairs. The timings of the patrols were somewhat irregular to keep any watchers from being completely sure where they would be at any given time, but there would be two guards stationed in the entry hall near the front door at all times.

"These are for you," Lee said, handing Amanda a packet of papers. "There are maps of the different floors of the house with the positions of the guards and room assignments for the guests marked."

The maps had been broken down by wing and floor. By now, Amanda was familiar with the public rooms of the house. The east wing was as Lee had described it.

"See this, here?" Lee tapped a room on the second floor of the east wing, the one nearest to the main part of the house. "This is an empty bedroom, and we put the controls for the security system here. Right now, they're pretty basic. They control whether the entire system is on or off and whether alarms sound aloud or silently. Sections of the system can be turned off by entering the proper codes. We have a couple of guards stationed there at all times to monitor the system. If this place is successful as a conference center, we'll turn the room into a regular security room and add video cameras and monitors."

"Do I need to know the codes for the security system?" Amanda asked, leafing through her packet of papers.

"No," Lee said. "The guards have been briefed on managing that. But, I'll show you the room so you'll be familiar with it. Besides attending the meetings with the others, you and I will be coordinating the security team, making sure that everyone is keeping to the schedule, receiving reports from the patrols, and responding to any alerts that we receive on our radios."

"I understand," Amanda said. She took another look at the maps.

The second and third floors of the main part of the house were mainly bedrooms. Each of them had a name, like Amanda's Rose Room and Lee's Bluebird Room. The names of guests were penciled in. Amanda was familiar with them from the profiles Billy had given her to study, but she had never met any of them before.

"Your room is just a couple of doors down from mine," Lee said, pointing at the map.

"I notice that your room is right next to Billy's," Amanda said.

"Yeah," Lee said. "He's in the Heron room."

"Francine is next to me, in the Peony Room. There are a lot of bird and flower names," Amanda noted.

"They're all named after birds and flowers."

"I guess it's nice that they have a theme. They seem to have put all the men in rooms with bird names and all the women in rooms with flower names."

"Yeah. Most of the guests are on the second floor, except for Romano and Worth. They're on the third floor with the security team. Senator Kahler is the only one sleeping in the west wing. Apparently, he prefers having one of the more modern rooms there. It's one of the ones with a private bath. Some of the rest of us will have to share with other people."

"Looks like neither of us gets a private bath," Amanda said.

"Neither does Francine," Lee said. "She's going to love that."

Amanda laughed. Francine always turned up at the office with perfect makeup and her hair fashionably styled. She had no idea what Francine's morning routine was like, but it probably took quite awhile, and she would probably hate having others limiting the amount of time she could spend preening (in keeping with the bird theme).

Amanda checked her packet and found the list of alerts for her radio and instructions on what to do if she got one.

"If the security alarm goes off," Lee said, "the guards in that area should converge on the spot where the alarm was triggered. Other personnel should monitor their radios and respond to instructions. Because you don't carry a weapon, you aren't expected to face off against intruders. Your job will be conducting guests to safer parts of the house in case of emergency and notifying me and the guards if you observe anything dangerous or anyone who doesn't belong on the grounds."

"I can do that," Amanda said, taking another look at her radio.

"We'll practice with the radio a bit, and I'll give you more time to study your alert signals later," Lee said, checking his watch. "We have just a little over an hour, so I'll show you the security controls and introduce you to the guards on duty."

The hour went fast, and by the time they were done, Amanda had a good understanding of the security system and how it worked. They had discussed the basics at the Agency before it was even installed, but seeing it in person was better. As Lee said, it was basic, but effective. Every window and door was covered by magnetic connections and glass break detectors. Fortunately for Amanda's sleeping preferences, it was possible to open bedroom windows slightly, but an alarm would sound if they were opened far enough for a person to get through. They could leave by a window in case of fire, but not without alerting security. Because security guards themselves would be going in and out of the doors, they were on a silent alarm, and they would have to announce via radio that they were the ones entering and leaving by that door. That was a bit of a hassle because it meant that door alerts would come regularly, but it was a good way to keep track of who was entering and leaving and when.

At about quarter to four, Amanda decided that she'd like to change clothes before the others arrived. She wanted to make a good impression when meeting their guests for the first time.

"I'm going to change, too," Lee said. "Meet me in the drawing room when you're ready."

"Okay," Amanda said.

Lee left her at the door to her room and continued on to his.

Like the other rooms that she had seen so far, The Rose Room had an old-fashioned flavor. It had a hardwood floor, a canopied bed, and its own fireplace. Amanda had never slept in a room with its own fireplace before. The room took its name from the rose color of the walls and the floral drapes that covered the windows. If it weren't for the electric lights, Amanda would have sworn that she's gone back in time. The bedside lamp turned on at a flick of the wall switch, but it was styled after an old-fashioned oil lamp to keep the historical flavor of the room. As promised, Albert had also brought up her suitcase.

Knowing that there would be more time to explore her room later, Amanda opened her suitcase and picked out the blue dress that she'd already decided to wear to dinner. The blue dress was good enough to wear to a nice dinner but simple enough that it wouldn't look too dressy at four in the afternoon. By now, Amanda had become accustomed to packing clothes like this when she traveled with Lee.

The little radio that Amanda had clipped to her waistband suddenly crackled to life.

"Amanda?" Lee's voice asked through the radio.

Amanda pressed the button to respond. "Yes."

"Just testing to make sure it's working alright."

"Seems fine to me. I can hear you clearly."

"Good. I'll see you downstairs soon then. And Amanda?"

"Yes?"

"Since we're on a secure frequency, I just want to say that you look pretty in pink."

"How do you think I'll look in blue?" Amanda asked teasingly.

"Pretty."

Amanda grinned. "I have the feeling you'd say that no matter what color I said."

"Exactly."

"And I love you for that."

"See you downstairs."

"See you soon."

Amanda dressed quickly, brushed her hair, and fixed her makeup while looking in the mirror that hung over her fireplace. When she was satisfied with her appearance, she made her way downstairs.


	3. Introductions

**Chapter 3: Introductions**

Billy and Francine were already there by the time Amanda came downstairs. With punctual Billy driving, they couldn't possibly arrive at anything later than 4 o'clock on the dot, and it was now one minute past. They were standing in the entry hall with Lee, shaking hands with Senator Kahler.

"Arriving fashionably late, Amanda?" Francine teased.

"Hello, Francine," Amanda said. Francine's comments could be a little annoying, but Amanda had long since learned that was just Francine's sense of humor.

Francine was looking crisp and fashionable in a white suit with pearl earrings. There wasn't even a smudge of dust on her clothes from traveling, but with a Senator present, Amanda knew she'd soon go upstairs to change for dinner.

"That's a lovely dress, Mrs. King," Senator Kahler said.

"Thank you," Amanda said. Lee was also giving her an admiring look, which said a lot more than the Senator's compliment.

"Our hostess is occupied at the moment, but would you like some coffee? Mrs. Nicholson brought some to the drawing room, or I could offer you something stronger."

They all went into the drawing room to wait for the others to arrive. There was an older woman already there, setting out an elegant china coffee set.

Mrs. Nicholson greeted them and offered them all coffee, which they all took in spite of the Senator's offer of something stronger. Even though alcohol was allowed at functions like this, they all had the feeling of being "on duty."

"Wonderful coffee!" Francine said brightly to Mrs. Nicholson. "Just what I wanted after that long drive here."

"Yes," Mrs. Nicholson said, giving Francine a pleasant smile. "It has been getting chilly here lately. Albert and I will be lighting fires in your rooms later."

"Oh, how cozy!"

Amanda knew that Francine was usually more into modern conveniences than old-fashioned charm, but you wouldn't know it to hear her gush about the beauty of the house. She concealed a smile, thinking of Francine's reaction when she found out that her room wouldn't have its own private bath.

The doorbell rang, deep chimes echoing from the entry hall. Amanda was surprised at how loud it was. It was the first time she'd heard it from inside, on the ground floor. She felt sorry for the security men who were stationed in the entry hall.

Cynthia ushered the newcomers into the room.

"Looks like the CIA is the first to arrive," Lee whispered to Amanda.

Amanda recognized the older man in the group from the background files that Billy had given them earlier. He was Richard Baudin, the mission head for the group. Next to him was Michael Romano, a tall, dark, and handsome man, if Amanda had ever seen one. He had been present on the mission when everything had gone sour and had barely escaped with his life. His partner on the mission, a British agent, hadn't been so lucky.

There were two women with them. The pretty young brunette turned out to be Georgia Eastman, Mr. Baudin's assistant, and the redhead who was eying the surroundings with a critical gaze, was Annette Sobol. Annette was the only member of the group who hadn't been part of the mission at all. She had been called in to help analyze what had gone wrong because she had prior experience dealing with smuggling operations.

"Nice to see you again, Rich." Billy got up and greeted Mr. Baudin warmly.

Baudin began introducing the CIA personnel to the others in the room. Georgia gave everyone a warm greeting and urged them all to please call her Georgia, but Agent Romano seemed subdued.

As Mrs. Nicholson offered them coffee, Lee whispered, "Watch that Romano, he's a playboy type."

Amanda smiled. She'd heard that kind of warning before from Lee. Lee had a jealous streak, but he had nothing to worry about. Francine gave Romano an especially bright smile, but he didn't smile back. He didn't smile at anyone or anything. He just accepted a coffee cup from Mrs. Nicholson with a brief "Thanks" and contented himself with watching the room quietly.

"Maybe he's the dark, brooding hero type," Amanda fantasized.

Not that she was interested in him. She had her own hero type. But, Romano did remind her of a character from one of her mother's romance novels.

Annette was a little more business-like than the others. She studied all of their faces closely when they were introduced and dutifully repeated their names, committing them to memory.

Francine studied Annette's outfit, an emerald green skirt and blouse set. "Is that a Faye Favreau original?" she asked.

"Why, yes, it is!" Annette said, clearly pleased at the recognition. Francine might just have found a soul mate.

The doorbell bonged again, and Cynthia left.

Amanda straightened up and looked at Lee, who gave her a reassuring smile. The next people to enter would be from MI6, and Amanda wanted to make a good impression.

There were only three of them. Paul Gordon, a thin man with a neat mustache, was the chief of operations. Lee had told Amanda that he had met Gordon before when he was working with Emily and that Emily had always thought highly of him, which said quite a lot to Amanda.

His secretary/assistant, Victoria Sanders, was close by his side. She would have been prettier if she'd been smiling, but her expression was bland. She had sort of dark blonde/light brown hair of a shade that Amanda found difficult to define, and her eyes were such a pale blue that they seemed practically colorless. It seemed as though any minute she could just melt into the background and disappear, or maybe she just wanted to. She didn't say anything as the introductions were made, just reached out a pale hand to take the coffee cup that Mrs. Nicholson offered her.

Andrew Worth, however, was all smiles and friendly handshakes, although his handshake was a little stiff because of his injured arm. Amanda knew that he had been shot in the arm on his last mission. Fortunately, it was no longer in a sling, and he was currently undergoing physical therapy to recover. He seemed determined not to let it get him down. He was a good-looking, fair-haired man, and he was particularly polite to the women in the room, lingering a little long over Francine's hand when he shook it, flashing her a charming smile.

"Be even more careful of Worth," Lee whispered to Amanda. "He's even more of a playboy."

"Have you met him before?" Amanda asked, holding back a smile.

"Once, briefly," Lee admitted. "He's got a reputation that precedes him."

"As a playboy?" Amanda teased.

"He's also a good agent," Lee admitted. "Just don't be alone with him."

"No problem," Amanda murmured. Worth was pretty focused on Francine.

With Francine now absorbed with Worth, Annette strolled across the room to where Billy was talking to Baudin and Gordon.

Following Amanda's gaze, Lee said, "Why don't we go join the conversation?"

Billy was saying, "Tonight, I think that everyone is tired, and it would be better to start fresh tomorrow. We should begin first thing in the morning, after breakfast."

"Yes," Gordon said. "I'm still adjusting to the change in time zones. It would be good to get some sleep before we talk."

Senator Kahler stepped up and renewed his offer of a drink. Baudin, Gordon, and Billy all accepted one, but Lee, Amanda, and Annette declined. Amanda wasn't sure if Billy accepted out of politeness because the others had or if he was starting to feel more relaxed than he had before. He seemed to speak comfortably with Baudin.

Gordon must have had a similar feeling because he asked them, "Have you two met before?"

Baudin laughed and put a hand on Billy's shoulder. "We were on a joint mission between the CIA and the Agency back when we were both rookies, and I've been on his Christmas card list ever since. Would you believe his wife makes the best fruitcake in Washington?"

"So you are old friends?" Gordon asked. Amanda noticed that his brow wrinkled slightly.

"I suppose you could say that," Billy said, "although it's been a long time since we last worked the same case together. In fact, it's been awhile since we've last seen each other in person. Almost two years, I think."

"We really should have lunch one of these days," Baudin said.

Ms. Sobol sipped her coffee and watched the others, not saying anything.

Gordon looked at Lee and said, "That reminds me, Emily Farnsworth told me to send you her regards."

"Well, thank you," Lee said. "How is Emily these days?"

"She's doing well and keeping busy," Gordon said.

"When you see her next, tell her that I'm thinking of her," Lee said.

"She's an amazing woman," Amanda said.

Gordon focused on her. "Oh, you've met Lady Farnsworth?"

"A few times," Amanda said. "She's very nice, and she's a talented actress. A good artist, too," Amanda added, remembering her sketches.

"Yes, she's very talented," Gordon said, "and the next time I see her, I will tell her you said so."

Senator Kahler and Cynthia came with drinks.

"I'm going to have to help with dinner preparations soon," Cynthia said, "but I wanted to let you all know that your bags are in your rooms in case any of you want to wash up or change for dinner. You'll find the names of your rooms written the doors. I'm sorry that not all of you will have private baths. I did arrange the rooms so that the ladies will be sharing baths with the other ladies, and gentlemen will share with gentlemen."

"That's fine," Billy said, giving her a kind smile.

"Reminds me almost of my college days," Baudin said jokingly. "You have a charming house, Ms. Ransom."

"Thank you," Cynthia said.

"It has such a colorful history, too," Amanda commented.

"Colorful history?" Senator Kahler asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I was talking about the ghost story," Amanda said, glancing at Cynthia.

"Oh, well, that's just an old story," Cynthia said awkwardly.

Senator Kahler looked fascinated. "You didn't tell me that before, Cynthia. What kind of a ghost?"

"Did you say ghost?" Francine asked.

She and Worth had come over to join the conversation. Or maybe Francine had come and Worth had followed, Amanda thought. Francine looked interested in the conversation, and Worth only seemed interested in Francine.

"Tell us the story," Senator Kahler insisted. "I'd love to hear it."

"I don't really believe in ghosts," Cynthia said.

"Neither do I," Annette said. Her tone indicated that should be the end of the matter, but it wasn't.

"Oh, but they are real!" Mrs. Nicholson said. "I've seen them myself."

By now, everyone in the room was drawn to the ghost conversation.

"You have?" Annette raised a condescending eyebrow.

"Yes, I've seen them moving about the house at night," Mrs. Nicholson insisted.

"What have you seen?" Francine asked. Amanda had rarely seen her so interested in anything that didn't involve her work, the latest fashions, or a particularly handsome man with a decent bank account.

"Charlotte Ransom, roaming the house, searching for her lost love," Mrs. Nicholson said. "She floats through the halls her in white wedding gown."

Cynthia coughed and said, "I doubt anyone really—"

"Where?" Francine interrupted.

"Oh, various places. In the east wing, where my room is, not far from where my sister and her daughter have their rooms, and sometimes in the main part of the house, where your rooms are. The Rose Room was once her room, you know."

"That's my room!" Amanda said.

"Then you might see her, too!" Mrs. Nicholson said brightly, as if she were talking about bumping into an old friend at the supermarket.

"But, I thought that Charlotte wasn't a Ransom and it was her lover, Josiah Ransom, who was the ghost," Amanda said.

"Oh, Josiah's here, too. He walks the house at night sometimes."

"Wait, who are these people?" Senator Kahler asked. "What's the story?"

"Shouldn't we check on dinner?" Cynthia asked. "I'm sure that everyone will want to change—"

"Josiah Ransom lived here during the Civil War," Mrs. Nicholson explained, "but he married a woman from the North named Charlotte."

"I thought they were just lovers," Amanda said.

"Oh, no, they were married. But Josiah was in the Confederate army. His superior was convinced that Charlotte was a Northern spy. He came to arrest her, but Josiah refused to hand her over. The two men fought, and they killed each other. Charlotte disappeared. Some people believe that she killed herself out of grief for her husband."

Amanda frowned. That wasn't quite the story she remembered from the pamphlet.

"So Charlotte and Josiah still haunt the house?" Francine seemed spellbound by the story.

"Yes," Mrs. Nicholson said. "They walk the halls, speaking softly to each other. Once I saw them share a dance in the ballroom—"

"I really think that we should give Mother and Bert a hand in the kitchen," Cynthia interrupted.

Senator Kahler gave her a look of surprise, then quickly took a sip of his drink.

"Yes, of course," Mrs. Nicholson said. "But, I'd just like to add that it's Charlotte's portrait that hangs over the fireplace in this room. Quite a striking woman, isn't she?"

Amanda gazed at the woman in the portrait again. "Striking" was exactly what she'd been thinking. The woman's dark eyes seemed to be looking right back at her, almost through her. Francine, standing beside her, must have felt it, too. She gave a little shiver.

Annette, on the other hand, seemed bored. "If you'll all excuse me, I'd like to go upstairs and change."

"Yes," Cynthia said. "You will be in the Buttercup Room, across the hall from Ms. Desmond. Ms. Desmond, your room is the Peony Room, next to Mrs. King's."

"Buttercup," Annette said in a suspiciously bland tone as she eyed the drawing room's yellow walls. Amanda suspected that Annette really didn't like the color.

"I'll go upstairs with you," Francine said quickly. She gave Charlotte's portrait the tiniest of glances as she turned to go. "Are you coming, Amanda?"

"You go ahead, I'm fine," Amanda said, not bothering to point out that she was already dressed for dinner. No matter what she wore, it wasn't likely to be good enough by Francine's standards.

The others all went upstairs to unpack or change for dinner, giving Amanda a little time alone with Lee.

"It's funny that Cynthia didn't seem to want to talk about the ghost story," Amanda said to Lee after the others were gone. "I mean, it was one of the major points in the pamphlet promoting the hotel."

"I don't know," Lee said. "Maybe she was just embarrassed because she realized that something that might attract curious tourists wouldn't interest government organizations that might want to use this place for meetings. She wants to be taken seriously, and if word gets out that she believes in ghosts, she might look silly and superstitious."

"Maybe," Amanda said thoughtfully. She took another look at the portrait. Those eyes were just so strange . . .

A beep interrupted her thoughts. The radio that she had clipped to the belt of her dress had just received an alert. The speaker crackled to life, and a voice said, "Rodriguez relieving Chen."

Lee's radio had buzzed instead of beeped, but he had turned down the sound to almost nothing so that it wouldn't interrupt while they were meeting with the others.

"I forgot to do that after we were talking earlier," Amanda sheepishly admitted.

"It's okay," Lee said. "Better do it before dinner, though."

"Right," Amanda said, making the adjustment.

"By the way, we have a couple of hours before dinner," Lee said.

"True," Amanda said.

"You've seen the whole house now. Is there anything you'd like to see more?"

"I could review those alert codes you gave me earlier," Amanda said, although she had the feeling that Lee was thinking along different lines.

"Come with me to the library for a few minutes," Lee said.

Amanda followed him to the library, and he closed the doors behind them.

"What I'd really like to see more of is you," Lee said softly, taking Amanda in his arms.

They shared a kiss, and Amanda relaxed into his embrace. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if she could have been wearing a beautiful, romantic dress that would suit the setting of this old house. Or if they had the house all to themselves. They'd been sneaking kisses for months now, seeing each other secretly whenever they possibly could. It would be nice if they could do this without the lurking fear of being caught that was now creeping into Amanda's mind.

"Your muscles are tight," Lee whispered and broke off his kisses to start massaging her neck.

Lee was right, his neck rubs were amazing.

It was a few minutes before Amanda could bring herself to say, "Aren't you worried someone might see us?"

"Nobody's here but us. That's why I brought you here. I'm starting to miss the privacy of the Q-Bureau."

"Someone could walk in," Amanda pointed out, although it was difficult for her to think clearly with Lee rubbing the back her neck like that.

"We still have plenty of time before dinner," Lee said, and he kissed her again.

"There are security personnel right outside."

"They won't come in. Your neck muscles are still a bit tight. Come and sit down. Let's relax for awhile."

They took the small couch and snuggled next to each other, talking softly. They talked about the house and the guests and their impressions of them. Gradually, they wandered onto other topics. It didn't matter too much what they talked about because they were just enjoying being alone with each other. Lee resumed the neck rub, and Amanda felt the tension melting out of her finally.

"I wish we could do this more, but we don't want the others to find us like this," she said.

Lee sighed. "I wish we could be alone for awhile," he said, "somewhere where we wouldn't have to worry about who might see what."

"I know." Amanda laid her head on Lee's shoulder, and he stroked her hair.

Somewhere, they heard a door slam, and they both tensed. But, no one came into the library. They didn't say anything else for a minute, just held onto each other.

Finally, Lee said, "We don't have a lot of time right now, and I think we're both a little self-conscious. Maybe later . . ." He trailed off.

"Later?" Amanda asked.

"We're going to be here a couple of days. We could probably manage a little more time to ourselves," Lee murmured. "If not, there's always the drive back. Any time we get to spend together is good."

"I always want more."

"So do I."


	4. Things That Go Bump in the Night

**Chapter 4: Things That Go Bump in the Night**

After she and Lee had spent some time alone together in the library, Amanda took time to run upstairs and fix her makeup. It needed it, and Lee surreptitiously slipped away to make sure that he had gotten all of the lipstick smudges wiped off his face. They were still ready early, and Amanda even had a little time to review her list of alert signals before going downstairs. It was a little before seven when she came back downstairs, but she wasn't the first to arrive.

Since dinner wasn't supposed to be black tie, most of the men were still wearing the suits they had on before, although a couple of them might have changed shirts, and Amanda noticed that Agent Worth was wearing a different tie than the one he'd had earlier.

Victoria was sitting alone, quietly, sipping a glass of white wine. In her pale ivory dress, she was looking even more bland that she had before. She almost blended in with the walls. Georgia, on the other hand, wore a bright red dress and seemed to be enjoying the company of the men, especially Romano, who seemed more relaxed than he'd been earlier. From the snatches of conversation that Amanda caught, they were just talking about what they'd seen on the drive here, but the look that Romano was giving Georgia wasn't too much different from the one Lee had given Amanda not too long ago in the library.

"A little office romance," Amanda speculated. That was a big assumption based on one look, but it was a significant look. Georgia was standing very close to Romano, and Romano hardly took his eyes off of her.

Amanda wondered whether Baudin knew about it. He might not. Billy didn't know that she and Lee were seeing each other. At least, Amanda didn't think he did. She snuck a look at Billy. He smiled in her direction, and Amanda smiled back. If Billy knew anything, he wasn't likely to say anything.

Annette and Francine were the last to arrive. They had clearly taken more trouble with their appearance. Francine had let her hair down from the French twist it was in earlier and had changed to a light blue dress that complimented her eyes. Annette had decided to go for basic black, but the cut was clearly tailored for her, and the diamond pendant she wore around her neck seemed to glow against the black background.

"Fashionably late, Francine?" Lee murmured as she walked by.

"Button it," Francine said cheerfully. "Lovely dress, Amanda."

"It's the same one I wore earlier."

"I _know_." Francine smiled sweetly and went over to talk to Worth.

That was more catty than her earlier teasing. Amanda never fully understood Francine's moods, even though it was obvious that she had them. Francine was now smiling at Worth, probably flirting with him a little and throwing compliments his way, but that little dig at Amanda for not dressing up more for dinner said that she was feeling edgy somehow. Worth must have just said something funny because Francine was laughing. But, even in the middle of her laughter, Amanda could see tension in Francine's shoulders, and her eyes kept straying to Charlotte's portrait.

Cynthia, who had changed to a black dress (much less expensive-looking than Annette's) at some point in the evening, came in to announce that dinner was ready. Amanda left off her thoughts about Francine as they all followed Cynthia into the dining room.

The dining room was beautiful with floral wallpaper and candles in crystal holders on the table. It turned out to be a wonderful dinner, too. Amanda didn't talk much to the others because the roast chicken occupied her attention.

Billy, Gordon, and Baudin were making small talk about the historical sights of Virginia, but Amanda sensed tension in them, too. They were struggling not to mention the reason they were all gathered here until the official meeting tomorrow. There were other side conversations going on around the table. Worth was paying marked attention to Francine. Francine, oddly enough, seemed to be keeping an eye on Mrs. Nicholson, who was helping Cynthia serve food and drink.

"Strange for someone who claims never to notice servants," Amanda thought. "Especially with a good-looking man sitting next to her."

Amanda snuck a look at Lee and noticed that he had been watching Francine as well. So, she wasn't the only one who had spotted it. Poor Worth was trying so hard to hold Francine's attention, too.

"This is only my second time in the U.S." Worth was saying to the side of Francine's head. "The only other time was when Chris and I came to see Mr. Baudin, and Romano took us to lunch-"

There was a sudden clatter, and everyone turned to look at Victoria. For the first time since Amanda had seen her, her cheeks were flushed, and her wine glass was lying on its side in front of her.

"I . . . I'm sorry," she stammered. "I'm so clumsy . . ."

"Never mind," Mrs. Nicholson said gently, righting the glass and wiping up the spilled wine with a cloth. "Would you like me to get you another drink?"

"No, no thank you," Victoria said, shaking her head vehemently. Her right hand nervously clutched at her chest, and for a moment, Amanda was afraid that she was having a heart attack. Then, she saw the top part of the chain she was tugging on. She wore a necklace underneath her blouse. "I . . . I have a headache. If you all will excuse me, I think I'd like to take some aspirin and go to bed."

"You may go," Gordon said. He looked sympathetic, and Worth looked embarrassed. Amanda sensed that they knew something the others didn't.

"Would you like me to bring you some aspirin?" Mrs. Nicholson asked kindly.

"No, thank you," Victoria said. "I have some of my own."

After she left, Cynthia brought in little bowls of chocolate mousse to finish the meal. It was delicious, but that odd tension Amanda had sensed in everyone seemed to have gotten worse, like the pressure that builds right before a storm. She only wished that she knew why.

Worth offered an explanation after dinner, when the guests were free to explore the house at their leisure. Since the drawing room was the only downstairs room most of them had seen, Lee offered to show them the library and the game room. Annette and Georgia both loved the library, found books for themselves, and promptly settled down to read. Romano, Worth, and Francine all accompanied Lee and Amanda to have a look at the game room. Worth was talking to Francine while they watched Lee play Romano at darts, but Amanda was sitting near them and couldn't help but overhear.

"I really shouldn't have mentioned Chris at dinner," Worth said. "That's what upset Victoria."

"Chris?" Francine asked. "Do you mean Christopher Bennett?"

"Yes. Poor Chris was killed on the mission when everything went wrong. Romano and I barely survived."

Romano paused before throwing his next dart. "Before he died, Chris told me that he and Victoria had been seeing each other. I'm not surprised that she's distraught. Poor kid."

Worth shook his head sadly. "It's worse than that. Chris told me that he wanted to marry her. It will be a long time before that wound heals. We all know the risks, of course . . ."

"But you never really expect it to happen," Amanda finished gently.

The looks on the other agents' faces said that they understood completely.

"I think Chris is the reason Victoria wanted to come in from the field," Worth said.

"She used to be a field agent?" Lee asked.

"For awhile, yes, before she met Chris. Chris was even starting to think of retiring from field work. He told me that he was saving up for it so that he and Victoria could have a new start. Victoria's never been one to complain about anything, but I know that losing Chris devastated her. I think he's the only one she ever really opened up to."

"I would have thought that she would take some time off to mourn him," Amanda said.

"She took off a couple of weeks to get his affairs in order," Worth said. "She inherited most of his estate, what there was of it. Chris wasn't rich, but I understand that he left his savings and a good insurance policy to her. Then, she insisted on coming back to work. Gordon would have given her more time, but she refused. She says that she wants to get the person responsible for Chris's death. Chris and Victoria would have done anything for each other."

"We're going to get 'em next time," Romano said. "We're going to do it for Chris!"

He threw his dart, landing a perfect bull's eye. He didn't look proud so much as pensive. His had went reflexively to his chest, and he seemed to finger a necklace that he wore beneath his shirt. Amanda couldn't see the necklace itself, of course, but she recognized the motion, and she could see part of the chain at his neckline.

Romano won the game, and Worth challenged him to another. While Lee watched them play, Amanda and Francine decided to go back to the library to see if the other women were still there. Georgia had gone to her room, but Annette was still reading.

"'Basic Household Wiring'," Amanda said, reading the front cover of her book.

Annette snapped the book shut. "Yes?"

"I was just curious what you were reading," Amanda explained.

"I prefer useful books to silly stories." Annette's tone was strangely defensive.

Annette eyed the book that Georgia had left on the table next to her, one of the romances Amanda had seen earlier. The look she gave it reminded Amanda of the expression on her mother's face when she took a look at some of the boys' comic books with superheroes and criminals duking it out.

"Not into light reading, huh?" Francine commented.

"This is light reading."

Neither Amanda nor Francine knew what to say to that. It was one of those rare moments when the two of them found something they could agree on.

"I honestly don't understand why people like this stuff," Annette continued, picking up the romantic book with a contemptuous frown. "The women are bimbos, the men are all jerks, and nobody really talks like they do in real life."

"How do you know how they talk if you never read them?" The thought just slipped out of Amanda's mouth as so many of her casual thoughts did, and she knew immediately it was the wrong thing to say.

Francine made a sound in her throat like she was trying to choke back a laugh, and Annette turned her back on them sharply, jamming the romance novel into an empty slot on the shelves.

"Did you want to talk to me about something?" Annette asked coolly.

"Not anymore," Francine muttered.

Amanda thought quickly. "Well, since Cynthia said that we're all sharing a bathroom, maybe we should decide when we're all going to take showers," she suggested. "I mean, it would be awkward if we all decided to take them at the same time—"

"My room has its own bath," Annette interrupted. "The rest of you need to share. I'm going to get a shower and get ready for bed now. Goodnight." With that, she took her household wiring book and walked off.

It was possibly the rudest "goodnight" that Amanda had ever heard.

"She's a lot of fun, isn't she?" Francine laughed.

"Do you know anything about her?" Amanda asked. "Besides what's in her background file, I mean."

"Not much. She's got a good professional reputation, and she's considered an authority on smuggling operations, but I've never worked with her before."

"Doesn't seem like an easy person to work with," Amanda commented.

Francine wasn't the easiest person to work with, either, she reflected, but she had her softer, friendlier moments, too. Francine sometimes got moody, but so far, Annette's only mood was a bad one.

"She's probably still irritated that they didn't call her in on the mission in the first place," Francine said, going to the bookshelves and browsing the selection. "Rumor has it that she wanted to be part of it, but Mr. Baudin wouldn't accept her."

"Why not?"

Francine picked up one of the romance books and flipped through it.

"I don't know. But, she probably thinks that the whole thing would have been a success if she'd been involved. Who knows? Maybe she's right."

Not knowing what else to say, Amanda asked, "Well, um, Francine, would you prefer your shower at night or in the morning?"

"I'll take one tonight," Francine said. She put the romance book back on the shelf. "I'm tired, and it might relax me. Do you mind if I go now?"

"Sure, go ahead," Amanda said.

Francine looked at one of her hands, examining her pretty pink nails, and said, "I need to fix this nail polish, too. Looks like I chipped one of my nails. Goodnight, Amanda," Francine turned to go. Then, she hesitated. "If anything bothers you during the night, you can wake me, you know?"

"Bothers me?" Amanda asked.

Francine was suddenly embarrassed. "I just . . . Never mind. Goodnight!"

Amanda shook her head as Francine left. What was she talking about?

She wondered about it all the way upstairs to her room after she went to say goodnight to Lee. Lee was still playing with Worth and Romano, but they had switched from darts to pool. He would have offered to walk Amanda to her room, but it would have been awkward in front of the other agents.

Instead, he said, "Goodnight Amanda." Then, he jokingly added, "Don't let the bedbugs bite."

"Does this place have bedbugs?" Worth asked.

"No," Lee said. "I'm just kidding."

"I had to ask," Worth said, leaning forward to examine the angle on his next shot. "I don't think my room has had a good airing in years. It's pretty small, too. No wonder it's called the 'Sparrow Room.'"

"My room is pretty small, too," Romano said. "It's the 'Phoebe Room.'"

"Because that's where Phoebe sleeps?" Worth asked teasingly. "Wish my room came with a girl."

"It's a type of bird," Amanda said helpfully.

"That's what I was hoping," Worth said with a bold wink. Amanda knew enough British slang to get the joke, but she didn't think it was that funny.

"I think someone here's got birds on the brain," Lee said. His wink was much nicer than Worth's.

Amanda just wished him good luck on his game and left him and the others to their male bonding. As she turned to the door, she thought that she glimpsed someone walking past, but then she decided that it had been her imagination.

It had been a long day, and Amanda was eager to get to bed. At night, the second floor hallway was very dim. During the day, much of the light had come from the glass double doors that led to the outside balcony. The wall lamps, which were made to look like old-fashioned gas lamps, didn't cast very much light. Amanda followed the dimly-lit hallway down to her room at the very end. She was glad that she wasn't trying to find her room for the first time. In this lighting, it was difficult to read the calligraphy on the door plaque that said "Rose Room." Then, it came back to her that Mrs. Nicholson had said that the Rose Room was Charlotte's room, and she understood Francine's comment.

Imagine! Cool, professional Francine was nervous because of a ghost story. Then again, she did like to read her horoscope all the time. Maybe she was even more superstitious than Amanda had thought.

Amanda chuckled to herself as she got ready for bed. It really was a beautiful room. A fire had been laid in the fireplace, probably by the so far unseen Albert who had brought up her luggage. Downstairs had been a little chilly, but the room was cozy-warm. Before laying out her pajamas, Amanda took a look at the pictures on the walls. They were beautiful, peaceful garden scenes. Except for one, which was a framed poem called "Ode to a Rose" by Charlotte Ransom.

"Another poem by Charlotte Ransom," Amanda said to herself.

She wondered how many more of them there were. If this was Charlotte's room, then why was there also a poem of hers in Lee's room? Maybe that was once Josiah's room. It was a romantic notion, that she and Lee were both sleeping in the rooms once occupied by a pair of lovers. Only, Amanda didn't like the tragic end of their story. She could imagine much better endings for her and Lee.

Amanda settled under the covers, the cheery glow of the fire illuminating the room. Usually, Amanda didn't like light when she was trying to sleep, but the fire's glow was oddly soothing tonight. She was still thinking about the ghost story. She didn't really expect to see anything in this room tonight, although it would make quite a story if she did. Nothing moved in the dark corners of the room, and Amanda couldn't hear a sound other than the fire's cracking. She couldn't even hear any of the other guests, although some of them might be still up because it was only 10 o'clock.

Amanda remembered that she wanted to get up early, so she set the alarm clock on the bedside table for six. Before everyone went their separate ways after dinner, Cynthia had said that breakfast would be at seven-thirty, so that should give her more than enough time, even if it turned out that Georgia and Victoria also liked to take their showers in the morning.

She rolled over onto her left side and stared at the flickering shadows that the fire cast on the walls. The atmosphere of this house was . . . odd. Not scary, really. Just odd. It was almost like it was caught between the past and the present, the historical and the modern. Amanda was fascinated with the history, even the supposed ghost. Mrs. Nicholson's story was different from the one in Cynthia's pamphlet, and Amanda wondered why. She also wondered why Cynthia seemed so uncomfortable with discussing it. Maybe, after the pamphlet was published, she'd discovered that she'd gotten the story wrong and was embarrassed about it. That was understandable.

Amanda yawned and closed her eyes. She wondered what Charlotte was really like, what she'd really done and what really happened to her. Not that it was any of her business, but she must have been really fascinating . . . and romantic . . .

She drifted off to sleep, dreaming of love and intrigue and women in gorgeous, sweeping hoop skirts . . .

"AAAAAAIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Amanda jolted awake. The fire had died to barely glowing embers. Her room was dark. What time was it? What was happening?

There were thumps and bangs coming from the next room, and she heard the sounds of slamming doors and running feet. Amanda struggled to untangle herself from the blankets and stumbled to the door to find out what happened.

There were other people in the hall already. Billy and Lee looked ready for action, even though they were wearing pajamas. Lee was clutching his gun. Annette had somehow managed to beat Amanda out into the hall even though she had stopped to put on her robe and slippers first. Georgia was standing next to her cluelessly as though she was trying to remember exactly where she was and what had woken her. Victoria peeked timidly from behind her bedroom door and asked in a tremulous voice what was happening.

"I don't know," Lee said, scanning the hallway. His gaze lingered on Amanda, and she sensed his relief at seeing her alright.

"Who screamed?" Billy asked.

"I think it came from Francine's room," Amanda said.

Billy strode to Francine's door and banged on it. "Francine! Can you hear me? Are you alright?"

When she didn't immediately answer, Billy grabbed the knob and turned it. Lee readied himself in case he needed to shoot at something, but nothing sprang out of the darkness of Francine's room. They just heard a soft moan, followed by a swear word.

"Francine?" Billy asked carefully. He found the light switch and flicked it on.

The others in the hallway were pressing close to see what was happening, but Billy told them all to back off.

"Lee, Amanda, come here," he said, beckoning them into Francine's room.

They followed him inside, Amanda bracing herself for whatever she might see. What she saw was Francine, sitting on the floor in an undignified position, especially considering how short her nightgown was. She was rubbing her leg, where a large bruise was already forming. The tipped-over stool and chair next to her told the rest of the story. Almost.

"Francine, are you alright? What happened?" Billy asked, going to help her off the floor.

Lee set his gun on the dressing table near the door and went to help them. Between them, they got Francine back on her feet.

"I'm okay," Francine said shakily.

Amanda spotted Francine's robe lying on the floor next to the chair and picked it up.

"Here, put this on," Amanda said, helping Francine into it.

"Thank you," Francine said gratefully. With her dignity partially restored, Francine said, "Someone was in my room tonight."

"What? Who?" Billy demanded.

"I don't know," Francine said. "I just woke up and saw someone. Someone wearing something long and white. I screamed and tried to get out of bed, but I fell over the furniture, and whoever it was . . . just vanished."

"You mean they got away," Billy said.

"I don't know! It was just gone!"

"It?"

"Whoever it was I saw." Francine was still looking around as though she suspected that "it" was still hiding somewhere in the room. Lee and Billy conducted a quick search, looking in the large old wardrobe and under the bed. But, there was no one else in the room.

"Are you sure you saw something?" Billy asked. "Could you have dreamed it?"

Francine glared at him, annoyance adding strength to her voice. "I didn't dream anything. There was something . . . someone in here with me!"

"Did you remember to lock your door?"

"Yes!"

"How could someone have gotten in?"

Lee muttered, "I knew those locks were too old. Cynthia's definitely going to have to get them replaced."

There was a knock at the door. "Is everything alright?" Annette called.

Billy went to the door and opened it. "Everything is fine now. You can go back to your rooms."

"What happened?" Annette demanded.

"Francine was startled, but she's alright now. Please, go back to bed."

"What startled her?"

"Someone walked into her room and woke her," Billy said. "We don't know why. We're going to conduct a quick head count, and then it would be best if everyone remained in their rooms for the rest of the night."

"I'll make sure everyone returns to their rooms," Lee said. Lee stepped out into the hallway, shutting the door behind him.

Billy was giving Francine a concerned look. "You're still a little shaken, aren't you?"

Francine said, "I'll be okay." But, Amanda could feel her still trembling in a way that had nothing to do with the chilly night air.

Billy could sense Francine's fear, too.

"Amanda, would it be alright if Francine stayed with you for the rest of the night?" Billy asked.

"Sure," Amanda said.

"Well . . ." Francine was reluctant. She had her pride, and the last thing she wanted was for people to think she was scared of . . . some white thing in her room at night.

"If there's something funny going on here, I think it would be better for you two to stick together," Billy said, trying to make it easier for Francine. "Remember to take your gun with you to Amanda's room. It isn't something that should be left behind, and Amanda doesn't have one. You could be her protection tonight."

"That's right," Amanda said, understanding what Billy was doing. "I'd really feel better if you stayed with me tonight, Francine."

Francine wouldn't want anyone to think she needed anyone else, but if she could say that she was keeping an eye on Amanda's safety, that was different.

"Okay," she said. "Just let me get a few things together."

Francine removed her gun from the night stand where she'd left it and picked out an outfit to wear the next day. Amanda helped her carry her clothes and some toiletries to her room and laid them neatly on the blanket chest at the foot of her bed. Francine put her gun on Amanda's night stand, ready to grab if they needed it. Billy stayed with them for a few minutes, waiting in the doorway to Amanda's room until Lee returned.

"Everyone on this floor is in their beds," Lee said. "I have the security personnel conducting a sweep of the rest of the house just to make sure that no one's wandering around where they shouldn't be. There were no security alerts, so we're not dealing with an outside intruder."

"Good," Billy said. "You and I will stay up until the security team makes their report. Are you two going to be alright now?"

"We'll be fine, sir," Amanda assured him, and Francine nodded.

"Try to get some sleep, then. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Lee said to both of them. "Be sure to lock the door after us." The men left the room.

Amanda locked the door, and she and Francine went to bed. Amanda lay awake in the darkness, thinking. Francine was still and silent beside her, but Amanda thought that she was still awake, too.

"Francine?" she asked softly.

"Hmm?"

"What did you see in your room?"

"I already told you."

"All you said was that it was white. And first you said it was 'someone,' then you said it was 'some _thing_.'"

Francine was quiet for awhile. Then, she said, "All I know is that it was white. Now, go to sleep."


	5. The Phantom of the Library

**Chapter 5: The Phantom of the Library**

Francine turned out to be a restless sleeper. Amanda woke up three or four times during the night because of her tossing and turning. At about quarter to six in the morning, Francine kicked her, and Amanda decided that she might as well get up. Francine shifted a bit when she got up, but she stayed asleep. Amanda thoughtfully canceled the alarm on the alarm clock so that Francine could sleep a little longer, although it would have served Francine right if she hadn't. But, after the scare she had last night, Amanda didn't have the heart. She decided that she would wake Francine after her shower.

No one was stirring yet, except for Amanda, so she had no competition for the bathroom. Amanda showered, dressed, brushed her hair, and put on her makeup with plenty of time left before breakfast. Still, there was no one up and moving about. At least, no one that Amanda could see.

When she returned to her room to wake Francine, she found that she was as much of a morning person as Lee, which is to say that she wasn't a morning person at all.

"Francine?"

"Mmmm?"

"Time to wake up."

"Hmm-mmm."

"It's about six-twenty, Francine. Breakfast is in a little over an hour. How much time do you need to get ready?"

"Not that much." It was the most coherent thing she'd said so far. It was actually the about most coherent thing she could say at that time of the morning.

Amanda wondered how she managed, living alone, with no one to make sure she got up and got ready on time. As high-maintenance as she was, Amanda had figured that she'd need the extra time.

"Well, I'm going downstairs. Do you want me to set the alarm for you?"

"No."

"You're sure you'll get ready in time for breakfast at seven-thirty?"

"Yeah. Go 'way." Francine pulled the covers up over her head. The discussion was over.

"Okay," Amanda said.

She left the room and slowly wandered down the hallway. Someone was in the bathroom that the women were sharing, so she wasn't the only one awake. Lee was probably doing what Francine was doing: sleeping in until the last minute. There might be someone else downstairs to talk to until breakfast was ready, but Amanda thought that she might check out the library again. There were books on the shelves that she wanted to look at.

As she walked downstairs, Amanda realized that today was Halloween. Francine's scare had occurred early in the morning, so it had happened on Halloween, too. How appropriate.

Amanda's thoughts drifted to her boys, now staying with Joe. It was too early for them to be awake, but what were their plans for the day? What were they going to do before going to the haunted house this evening? She still hoped that the experience wouldn't be too scary for them. Her boys were growing up, but no matter how old they got, they were still her boys, and she couldn't help but be concerned for them.

The only people Amanda saw in the entry hall were the security guards on duty, and she wished them good morning.

"Has anyone else come down yet?" she asked.

"No, ma'am. You're the first one," one of them said, and she thanked him.

That was why she was astonished to see someone in the library when she went inside. There was an elderly woman standing by the bookshelves, looking into a book. She had fine, wispy white hair and very dark eyes. Amanda had no idea who she was.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Amanda said. "I didn't think anyone was in here. You startled me."

The woman didn't seem startled at all. She just gave Amanda a kind smile. Amanda was a little worried about who this unfamiliar person was, but she must have come past the security guards to get in here. Why hadn't they mentioned her?

"Um, I'm Mrs. King. May I ask who you are?"

The lady smiled and closed the book she was reading, but she didn't say anything. Amanda wracked her brains. She wasn't a guest because she'd met all the guests last night. Maybe she was staff? But the only staff were Cynthia, her aunt, and her mother . . .

"Oh, wait, you're Abigail Ransom, aren't you? Of course, we weren't introduced last night."

Amanda had never even seen a picture of Cynthia's mother before. The Agency profile didn't have one. But, this must be her. That was why her dark eyes seemed so familiar. They were striking, very like Cynthia's.

Mrs. Ransom walked over to Amanda, and still smiling, handed her the book she had been reading. The cover said, "An Illustrated History of Virginia."

"That looks interesting," Amanda said.

But, Mrs. Ransom was already gone. Amanda looked around. The library door was closed. If she'd left that way, she'd been extremely fast.

"That was odd," she thought. "Mrs. Ransom certainly isn't much of a conversationalist."

With nothing else to do and no one else to talk to, Amanda sat down and started to look through the book. It was one of the newer books in the Ransoms' collection, and there were full-color pictures scattered throughout. Amanda thumbed through the pages idly, not really looking for anything in particular. She was still a little tired because of the restless night she'd had. Partway through the section about the establishment of Jamestown, she leaned back in her chair and rested her eyes.

Amanda thought she'd only closed her eyes for a moment, but then Francine was standing next to her, shaking her awake.

"Amanda! It's almost time for breakfast."

Amanda sat up and looked at her watch. Francine was right. It was 7:20 am, and breakfast was in 10 minutes.

"Thanks, Francine. I must have dozed off. By the way, how did you get down here so fast? I thought you were going to sleep in."

"I did," Francine said smugly.

"Until when?"

"Oh, about half an hour ago."

"You got ready in just half an hour?"

Francine was wearing the neat slacks and blue sweater she'd selected the night before with a gold chain around her neck and gold hoop earrings. Her makeup was neatly done, and her hair was once again up in a French twist.

"Actually, that only took 25 minutes. The other five minutes was coming down here and finding you. When I was at boarding school when I was young, I could get ready for class in just 10 or 15 minutes, depending on hairstyle, but I wasn't allowed to wear makeup then."

Amanda hadn't known that Francine had attended boarding school, although it somehow made sense. Francine always had an air of self-reliance about her, probably something she'd picked up from being away from home at an early age.

"Besides, when you're Billy's assistant, you have to learn to be punctual."

"You did your nails, too?" Amanda asked, noticing that her finger nails were now ruby red.

"No, I did that last night, before I went to bed. You just didn't notice with everything that was going on. What's that you're reading?"

"It's a book about the history of Virginia," Amanda said.

"Exciting. No wonder you fell asleep."

"Mrs. Ransom gave it to me."

"Mrs. Ransom?"

"Abigail Ransom, Cynthia's mother. She was here when I came down, and she handed this book to me, but she disappeared. I don't know where she is now."

"Disappeared?" Francine looked around the room.

"I didn't really mean 'vanished,' I just mean that she walked out on me." She'd done it pretty fast, though, Amanda reflected. Fast and silent.

"Oh. That's funny. The guards told me that you were the only one in here."

Amanda shrugged. "Maybe they meant that I was the only one in here now. She was here earlier."

Francine took a deep breath. "Listen, Amanda, I wanted to talk to you about last night-"

"You kick."

Francine glared at her. "And you snore."

"Sorry."

"What I mean is-"

"You'd probably rather I didn't say anything about you staying with me to the others."

"Right. I don't know who or what was in my room last night, but I don't want the others thinking that I'm an alarmist."

"You just said it again."

"Said what again?"

"'Who or what.' Francine, last night you didn't seem to know whether to call what you saw in your room a person or a thing. What was it you really saw?"

Francine crossed her arms in front of her. "I told you, I'm not sure what it was. Just something white."

"But you screamed. Why scream if you didn't think that there was a person in your room?"

Francine rubbed her arms as if they were cold, but Amanda didn't think the room was that chilly.

"It looked like a person. It probably was a person. It just seemed to go away so quickly . . . but then I tripped over the furniture, and I probably just missed seeing it leave the room. It was probably just someone stumbling to bed late last night who got the wrong room by mistake. It was kind of dim in that hallway after the sun went down, wasn't it?"

"That's true," Amanda said slowly.

The hallway was rather dim. It was something else Cynthia would have to fix, along with the antiquated door locks. A person who had a poor sense of direction and was relying on the labels on the doors might have more trouble.

"It just startled me, that's all," Francine said.

"Well, that's understandable."

"Some people are probably going to be asking about it this morning, and I just don't want to make a big thing of it."

"Right."

"Good. I'm glad you understand. Want to go find Lee?" Francine suggested, crossing her arms a little more tightly across her chest. "Something about this room kind of bothers me."

"Really?" Amanda said. "It didn't seem to bother you last night."

Francine frowned. "I don't know what it is. It just . . . it has a different feel to it this morning."

"I suppose we'd better check to see if Lee is up and moving," Amanda said.

"He is," Francine said. "I knocked on his door before I came downstairs. He was dressed and said that he'd be down in a few minutes."

They found Lee in the drawing room with Billy. Most of the others were there, too. In the morning sunlight, the yellow room looked especially bright and cheery. Annette strode in just after them, giving the room a cool, critical look. Sunshiny yellow definitely wasn't her color. She wore charcoal gray today, which wasn't really her color, either. It made her look like a storm cloud in an otherwise sunny sky in this room.

Amanda looked at Francine to see if she'd noticed. She hadn't. She was staring at Charlotte's portrait again and rubbing her arms like she had in the library.

"Something wrong, Francine?" Amanda asked gently.

"No! No, why?"

"No reason."

Amanda looked at the portrait again herself. Those eyes were fascinating.

Lee noticed that Amanda and Francine were there and came over to say good morning to them.

"How did you two sleep last night after the excitement?" he asked.

"Fine," Francine said quickly.

"We checked the whole house last night. Everyone was where they were supposed to be, and there was no sign of any intruders."

"Oh, good," Amanda said. Hearing that Lee had checked everything out set her mind at ease.

"I thought about telling you last night, but I didn't want to wake you."

"What was it that happened last night?" Annette asked, coming over to insert herself into the conversation.

"I think someone must have mistaken my room for their room," Francine said. "They woke me up and startled me. At first, I thought that we might have an intruder, but I was wrong."

"As I was saying," Lee added, "my men and I checked the house, and everything is secure."

The radios that Lee and Amanda both wore buzzed at that moment, and soft voices, low because the volume was turned down on both units, informed them of routine guard changes.

"Good," Annette said, ignoring the radios. "Enough has gone wrong with this operation already."

Romano came over to join in the conversation. "I slept through last night's excitement, but Georgia told me about it this morning. What happened exactly?"

"Just a misunderstanding," Francine said, trying to sweep the incident under the rug.

"Someone entered Francine's room by mistake," Amanda said.

"By mistake, huh?" Romano glanced between Francine and Worth, who was also coming over to join them. Amanda could see the way his mind was working. That was an angle Amanda hadn't considered.

Annette seemed to see his way of thinking, too. "A mistake like that would be foolish. Doing it on purpose would be even more foolish. We're here to do serious work, and distractions like that would be unprofessional. It's that kind of unprofessional behavior that can ruin missions." She was looking at Romano as she said it.

"What are you trying to say?" Romano asked suspiciously.

"I'm saying-"

"That it's time for breakfast," Senator Kahler broke in on the conversation. "Cynthia was telling me that everything is ready in the dining room. We'll save the discussion for the meeting after breakfast. I'll be very interested in hearing everyone's views."

Annette and Romano glared at each other.

The dining room was just as charming by daylight as it was at night, but much more cheerful with light streaming in through the windows. Cynthia was there, and so was another woman Amanda hadn't met yet. She looked about the same age as Amanda's mother and was wearing a pink dress that matched the bright lipstick she was wearing.

Cynthia said to everyone, "This is my mother, Abigail Ransom. She will be helping me serve breakfast this morning. We have-"

"Wait!" Amanda blurted out. "If you're Abigail Ransom, then who was in the library this morning?"


	6. Security Measures

**Chapter 6: Security Measures**

It was just as well that Lee didn't eat breakfast because he ordered a new security sweep of the house and wanted to oversee it personally. Just like the sweep the night before, the security personnel didn't find anyone who didn't belong, certainly not an elderly lady who liked books.

"Is there anywhere that someone might hide inside this house?" Billy asked the Ransoms as they sat in the dining room after breakfast.

"No," Cynthia said, rubbing her forehead. "Unfortunately, unlike old mansions in movies, there aren't any hidden rooms or secret passages in this house."

"'Unfortunately?'" Billy asked.

Cynthia shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Sorry. A poor choice of words under the circumstances. When I was planning to promote the house as a hotel, I had a thought that if the house had a secret passage, it would add to the historical interest of the place."

"Like the ghost story," Amanda said thoughtfully.

Cynthia looked at her hands and didn't answer. Lee wished that Amanda hadn't brought it up. She might find the story fascinating, but it just wasn't appropriate for the serious meeting they were trying to have here.

"Francine," Billy said. "Could the old woman Amanda described be the person you saw last night?"

"I don't know," she said. "It was dark, and I only saw it . . . her briefly."

"Her? You're sure it was a woman?"

"Not really, no," Francine admitted. "But, it would make sense if I saw a woman because men don't tend to wear long, white things, and that's what I saw. Something long and white."

Baudin, Gordon, and Senator Kahler were also in on the conversation. The others were waiting in the drawing room to hear the results of the search. If there was really some strange woman wandering around, their security had been broken, and this location would no longer be safe for their meeting. But, Lee was confident that wasn't the case. There had been no security alerts the entire night or this morning, other than the routine guard changes, and the security system was still functioning perfectly.

"Amanda, was the woman you saw wearing white?" Billy asked.

"No, she had on a light blue dress."

"Light blue might look as pale as white at night," Billy speculated.

"It wasn't a long dress," Amanda said.

"It could still the same woman," Billy said, "unless you both dreamed what you saw."

"I didn't dream anything!" Francine protested.

"And I wasn't asleep, sir," Amanda said. "I saw the old woman first thing in the morning when I came downstairs and went into the library."

"But Francine said that she woke you when she came down," Billy said gently. "Couldn't you have just fallen asleep in the library and dreamed that you saw someone there?"

"No, sir!" Amanda said. She showed him the history book that she was still carrying around. "She handed me this book. I nodded off while reading it. If I'd dreamt the whole thing, why would I still have the book?"

"Perhaps you picked it up right before you fell asleep," Gordon suggested, "and because of your dream, you simply forgot. With last night's incident still fresh in your mind, it's not odd that you would dream that someone was here who didn't belong."

"And Francine's dream could have been because of the ghost story we talked about," Billy said thoughtfully. "We were all tired and a little on edge last night . . ."

Francine looked down at the table silently. Lee could tell that she didn't like that explanation. She resented the implication that she'd let her imagination run away with her, even in her dreams, and she didn't even believe that she'd been dreaming at all. Francine just didn't want to say anything more because she didn't want to seem like she was being unreasonable about it.

But, Amanda wasn't worried about whether or not anyone thought she was being unreasonable. She was adamant about what she saw, or at least, what she thought she saw.

"The woman was _there_ , in the library, and she gave me this book," Amanda insisted.

"The security team didn't find anyone, Amanda," Billy said gently. "Let me see the book for a moment."

Amanda handed the book to Billy, who leafed through the pages quickly. He shook the book, but nothing fell out. He looked under the dust jacket. Then, he took off the dust jacket and inspected the binding.

"It looks perfectly ordinary," Billy said, putting the dust jacket back on and handing it back to Amanda.

"You said that there was no sign of anyone on the grounds who didn't belong," Baudin said to Lee, "but was there any sign of any _thing_ that doesn't belong? Did you check for listening devices that may have been planted?"

"We checked," Lee said. "There are no bugs, no unexplained electrical signals that could indicate planted explosives, nothing unusual at all."

"Then, you consider this to still be a safe site to hold our meeting?"

"I see nothing to suggest that this house isn't safe," Lee said.

It wasn't a firm yes or no, but Lee thought it best to keep an open mind. Even though he couldn't find anything that proved that this house wasn't safe, there was still a chance that he would. Both Amanda and Francine had seen weird things, and that worried him.

Senator Kahler spoke up in defense of the house. "I wouldn't have recommended this site if I didn't believe it was safe. I'm satisfied with the reports from the security team. Most likely, the old woman was a dream. Just a very realistic one," he added for Amanda's benefit. "After all, why would an elderly lady break in here just to offer you a book to read? Maybe this house just has more ghosts than advertised." He chuckled at his own joke.

Gordon and Baudin smiled humorlessly at his comment. None of the others smiled. Cynthia seemed curious about the book Amanda was holding. She leaned over Amanda's shoulder and took a look at it. Her expression changed when she saw the cover. Lee found it difficult to define the emotion that flitted across Cynthia's face. It was only there for a second before it changed to a polite mask.

"This book is definitely from our library," Cynthia said. "It wasn't brought here by anyone else. I could go put it back for you, if you like." It was the tone of a person who was trying a little too hard to sound casual.

She reached out for the book, but Amanda tightened her grip on it, moving it out of Cynthia's reach.

"Actually, I think I'd like to read it," she said. "I'm curious about it now. It looks really interesting."

"Suit yourself," Cynthia said. There was irritation in her voice, and Lee wondered why.

"What do you think, Gordon?" Billy asked. "Do you have any reservations about continuing the meeting here?"

Gordon took a deep breath and looked at each of their faces in turn before answering.

Finally, he said, "I'm willing to continue with the meeting, but I want to know immediately if there are any other . . . incidents. Even if they might be dreams. If anything odd happens at all, I want to know about it."

"Yes, of course," Billy said. "Why don't we all take a break to prepare before we begin? In about half an hour, we'll meet in the ballroom."

"That sounds fine to me," Baudin said.

"Amanda?" Lee said, motioning for her to follow him out of the room. "There are a few things I think we should take care of."

Amanda followed Lee upstairs. Some of the others came upstairs, too, but Lee held Amanda back at the top of the stairs while the others went into their rooms.

"What are we doing?" Amanda asked softly.

"I want to make sure that we're alone. I want to talk to you about something."

When Lee was satisfied that no one else was watching, he led Amanda to his room.

Once inside, Lee said, "Someone must have been in Francine's room last night. She couldn't have just been dreaming it. I've been thinking about what happened, and remember that Billy opened Francine's door when she didn't open it herself? He couldn't have done that unless the door was unlocked, and I've known Francine too long to think that she'd leave her door unlocked in a strange place with people she doesn't know."

"What about me?" Amanda asked. "You believe me about the old woman, don't you?"

Lee hesitated and Amanda insisted, "I swear I was completely awake when she gave me this book." She waved the book under his nose.

Lee saw the determination in Amanda's eyes. He trusted her more than he trusted anyone else, and he knew that she was telling him the truth. At least, the truth as she knew it. But, what if she had been dreaming? He wanted to tell her that he believed her completely, but how could he contradict what the security guards told him?

Lee looked at her seriously. "I talked to the security guards in the entry hall, and they swear that no one entered or left the library except you and later Francine. They'd been on duty since five in the morning. I woke the guys who were on the night shift, and they said no one went into the library on their shift, either."

"Lee, she was there!"

"I don't know what's going on here," Lee said carefully, taking Amanda's hands in his, "but we're going to take another look at the library later. We've both looked at the plans for this house, and like Cynthia said, they don't show any hidden passages. But, if there's another way in or out of that room, I want to know about it."

Amanda nodded. She didn't seem completely satisfied, but knowing that Lee was still listening to her and at least partly believed her calmed her down. It was enough for now that he would check out the room with her later, so she didn't say any more.

Lee looked down at the book in her hands. "Could I see that for a moment?"

Billy had already checked out the book, but it still made Lee uneasy. Amanda handed it over, and Lee gave it a thorough inspection. He flipped through the entire book twice. He paused at a couple of random spots to read, but didn't see anything other than chapters in Virginia history. He removed the dust jacket and looked closely at the binding, tugging a little to see if it was loose. As far as he could tell, everything seemed normal.

"Why would somebody want to give this to you without any explanation?" he wondered out loud.

Suddenly, Amanda said, "Lee, look at this."

She was hold the dust jacket he'd set aside, and there was something written on the underside, under the flap that contained the summary of the book.

At the top, someone had written, "Charlotte and Joseph." Then, they'd crossed out "Joseph" and wrote "Josiah." Beneath that were the words, "Killed in action" and "possible spy." There were two dates listed. Someone had crossed out "1778" and written "1781." Then, all the way down at the bottom, were the words, "Civil War battle sites?"

"What does all that mean?" Lee asked.

"I don't know," Amanda said. "'Charlotte and Josiah' could be a reference to the ghost story, but I don't know what the rest of this means. I guess someone could be making some general history notes."

The notes bothered Lee. They were written in an odd place, tucked out of sight. Even Billy had missed them when he'd taken a look at the book. And someone had given this to Amanda. Apparently.

In spite of the fact that they hadn't been able to find any trace of the old woman, deep down, Lee really did believe that Amanda had seen her. Amanda wasn't the type to just imagine things. It disturbed him that some mystery woman they couldn't find had handed this to Amanda and then disappeared.

"Let's think it over awhile and take another look at it later," Lee suggested. "In the meantime, we'll just leave this in the desk." He put the dust jacket back on the book and put it into one of the drawers of his desk.

"Okay," Amanda said.

It made Lee feel a little better to shut the book away in his desk drawer. He didn't know what the notes were for, but he didn't like the idea of Amanda carrying it around.

"Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about what Francine saw. You know how Romano kind of implied that Worth might have been in Francine's room last night?" Lee asked.

Amanda nodded. "I caught that, too."

"Even though Francine thought it was a woman because it was wearing white, it still could have been a man. Maybe he was wearing a white bathrobe or something. He's been hovering around Francine since he got here, and I told you that he's got a reputation."

Amanda probably thought that he'd been exaggerating, but female agents who had worked with Worth before all told the same story. Worth was all charm until he got what he wanted, and then he moved on quickly to his next conquest. Hopefully, Francine wouldn't be taken in by him. She was usually pretty good at spotting playboys like him. Maybe Worth had assumed that Francine was more interested than she really was or maybe he had thought it would be romantic to show up in her room at night, but when she screamed, he'd beat it out of there before he got caught.

"Maybe," Amanda said slowly.

"You don't think it's likely?" Lee asked.

"Francine . . ." Amanda hesitated. "I just think that she would have recognized if it had been a man standing there."

Lee heard that note in her voice, the one she used when she was trying not to say something. "There's something else, isn't there?"

Amanda's brow furrowed. "Francine seemed confused about whether or not it was a person she saw."

"Really? What did she think it was?"

Amanda shrugged helplessly. "Just something white. That's all she knows for sure. She thinks it was probably a person, but she just doesn't seem sure."

"Well, I guess that can happen if you're woken suddenly from a sound sleep," Lee said.

Amanda didn't look convinced.

"But, more importantly, whoever it was, man or woman, got into Francine's room even though she locked the door. Cynthia and her staff have spare keys so they can get in to make the beds and lay fires in the fireplaces, but these locks are old and could be easily picked. Probably, whoever got into Francine's room could break into any room in this house."

"Is there anything we can do to make our rooms more secure?" Amanda asked.

"Not completely, not without actually changing out all the locks. For now, whenever you're in your room for the night, I recommend placing something in front of the door. If you don't have anything you can use to kind of block the doorway, at least put something in front of it that will fall over and wake you up if someone tries to come in."

"That's good thinking. Kind of a poor man's burglar alarm."

"Yeah. Also, we should leave anything of value in the room with the security system controls."

"Why?"

"It's the only room in the house where there will be people who are awake at all times. Our rooms aren't secure enough to leave valuables there when we're not there to look after them ourselves."

Amanda said, "Well, the most valuable things I have are the papers that you gave me to study earlier. I didn't bring any valuable jewelry with me."

"The papers are what I was thinking of. I need to keep the patrols' schedule with me, but we should store everything relating to how the security system works in the control room, under guard. Have you finished reviewing all the alert codes?"

"I them pretty well memorized, I think," Amanda said. "The break-in alerts are tricky because there are so many locations where they could occur. I don't know if I have all the location codes in my memory yet."

"If you want to keep that sheet with you to look over more, I think that would be okay. If you're feeling pretty confident about everything else, we'll take the rest to the control room. You can always go there to look at them again later, if you have to."

"That sounds good to me."

"Tell you what," Lee added, checking his watch. "We still have a little time. After we drop off those papers at the control room, why don't we go have another look at the library before the meeting starts?"

"I'd like that," Amanda said, smiling at Lee. "I don't know who or what Francine saw, but I'm very sure about what I saw."

"I know. We'll figure out what happened. And, Amanda?" Now it was Lee's turn to hesitate.

"Yes?"

"If anything bothers you in the night, you know you can always come to me, right?"

"Of course."

"Once you're in your room for the night, I do want you to put something in front of your door, for extra security, and if anyone enters your room, you can get me on your radio." Lee paused and licked his lips. "But if you don't even want to stay in your room . . . if you don't feel safe there . . . you could always stay with me," Lee said softly.

Amanda blushed a little. She was always so cute when she blushed.

"That would be daring," she said.

"I know."

"And Francine might stay with me again tonight, although I hope she doesn't. She kicks."

Lee smiled but said seriously, "I just want you to know that you can, if you want to. I don't think anything else will happen, but I want you to feel safe. I'd keep you safe."

"I'll keep it in mind," Amanda said softly.


	7. Failed Mission

**Chapter 7: Failed Mission**

"I think we should begin by reviewing what happened in London six weeks ago," Billy said as the meeting began. "We've already received the official reports, but I would be particularly interested in hearing from Worth and Romano because they directly witnessed what happened."

Lee and Amanda hadn't found anything of interest during their search of the library, so when it was time for the meeting to begin, they left off their search and joined the others in the ballroom.

Romano said, "I think that my report speaks for itself. We don't know how they knew that it was a set-up, but it was obvious that they knew and were ready for us."

"I'll still like to hear your account of the incident," Billy said.

Romano sighed deeply and began telling his story, "We'd arranged for me and my partner, Christopher Bennett, to pretend to be buyers interested in purchasing the goods the terrorists were smuggling. Some of MI6's information sources spread word about us to the right people to help us build up a credible reputation so the smugglers would agree to meet with us. We met with their representatives twice to establish a relationship with them, and then, we set up a meeting time where we would actually be able to inspect the goods and make a purchase."

Gordon interrupted at this point to say, "We chose these two to contact the smugglers because they had both previously worked on anti-smuggling operations, although not together, and because Bennett could speak in an American accent. For authenticity's sake, we had Romano do most of the talking."

Romano nodded. "That's right. We claimed that we could help the terrorists bring their goods into the U.S. and pass them along to wealthy buyers but only if we were satisfied with the quality of the goods ourselves."

"What was the arrangement for that final meeting with the smugglers?" Billy asked.

"The meeting took place in a warehouse on September 15th. The warehouse wasn't where the goods themselves were stored, but the smugglers were supposed to bring us samples. If we approved of them and they approved of our offer for a shipment, they were supposed to take us to where they stored the rest so that we could see more. Bennett was carrying a briefcase with money for our 'initial offer' as a show of good faith. We were supposed to go alone to the meeting, but of course, there were more agents concealed in and around the warehouse. Bennett and I entered on foot through a side door. The smugglers brought a van, supposedly with samples of their goods, through the garage doors.

"But, instead of bringing out samples of their goods to show to us, there were armed men inside the van. They jumped out and started to search us. At first, I figured they were just being extra careful, testing us to make sure that we were who and what we said we were. I knew that they wouldn't find anything on us because neither of us was carrying any ID or weapons. We weren't even wearing wires because it occurred us that we might be searched."

"If you weren't wearing a wire, how were you planning to signal if you needed help?" Lee asked.

Gordon said, "We'd worked out a system of signals in advance. Worth's team was to keep an eye on them inside the warehouse, and we had other teams stationed outside, ready to follow the smugglers' vehicle when it left."

Baudin added, "It would have been enough to arrest the ones who came to the meeting, if they had brought any of the goods with them, but we were really hoping that they would lead our teams to the rest of it and possibly even to some of their top people."

"So, what happened then?" Billy asked Romano. "After they searched you?"

"There wasn't really an 'after.'" Romano said. His voice shook, but his facial features were controlled. It was understandable. They all knew the difficult part was coming next.

Clearing his throat, Romano said, "There was no warning. The man who was searching me suddenly shouted at me and hit me in the side of my head. I don't know exactly how long I was unconscious, but when I woke, Agent Worth was standing over me, and Bennett was lying dead beside me." Romano lapsed into silence. There wasn't really anything else to say.

Lee looked over at Victoria. She was pale but controlled. Her eyes were on the legal pad she was using to take notes. Hearing the details of her fiance's death must be difficult. Considering the way she had fled the room at the mere mention of his name the night before, Lee half expected her to do it again, but she didn't. She sat resolutely, taking notes.

"Thank you," Billy said. "Would you like to tell us about what you witnessed, Worth? You were also present in the warehouse."

Adjusting his tie, Worth said, "It was like Romano said. He and Bennett entered the warehouse through a side entrance. I led a team of four people inside exactly three minutes after they were inside. We had been concealed behind another building nearby. We were communicating with the other teams by portable radio, and Gordon reported to us that the smugglers had also just entered the warehouse. Once inside, we took up our arranged positions behind some boxes on the ground level.

"From where we were concealed, we had a clear view of Romano and Bennett, but we couldn't hear what they were saying. We watched the smugglers get out of their van and search them. I reported what we were seeing to Gordon, who was coordinating the teams. He said that we should hold our position and not interfere yet, that the teams outside were prepared to follow the van if it left with our men."

Gordon interrupted at this point and said, "At the time, I wasn't certain whether they actually meant our people harm or if they were just testing them to see how they would react before leading them to the goods they had concealed elsewhere. As we've said, they weren't carrying anything on them to suggest that they were law enforcement, so I didn't think that they were in immediate danger. I thought it best not to react."

Worth continued, "Then, suddenly, it all went wrong."

Up until this point, Worth's voice had been even, professional, but here it started to waver a little. Lee could understand. He'd been on missions where people were killed, and no matter how long you'd been in the game or how many friends and colleagues you lost, it never stopped hurting.

Worth cleared his throat and composed himself. "The man searching Romano's pockets suddenly shouted and hit him across the side of the head. Then, one of the others shot Chris."

Chris, not just Bennett. Worth had lost a friend as well as a colleague on the mission.

Victoria took a handkerchief from her pocket and put it to her face. Gordon patted her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. She got up and left the room. None of the others remarked on it.

"We were prevented from firing on the people by the van because others had come up behind us. They demanded that we hand over our guns, but we opened fire. I killed one of them with a head shot, but at least some of the others were wearing bullet-proof vests. I saw them fall after they were hit and get up again. They fired back at us, and I was hit in the right arm. One of other others on my team called for help before he was also shot. Fortunately, we were able to get medical help fast enough to save him. He barely survived. The surviving smugglers retreated into their van and drove off. They managed to evade our teams as if they were expecting them, as if they knew exactly where they were going to be."

Gordon said, "It's obvious that someone who knew that Bennett and Romano were plants informed the smugglers."

"Ms. Sobol," Billy said, "you have prepared a report about the information dealers that MI6 and the CIA used in this operation, the ones who not only supplied them with information about the smuggling operation but also spread the word about Romano and Bennett's cover story. Could the leak have been any of them?"

"No," Annette said.

"That sounds definite."

"It is. Not only have I researched these sources thoroughly, but the mission reports clearly speak for themselves. The leak is someone who was directly involved in planning the mission." She delivered this news as calmly as if she were giving the weather report.

"Can you explain?" Billy asked.

"Agent Worth has already explained it. The smugglers knew where the teams were and how to evade them. But, even more significantly, they knew that Worth's team was in the warehouse even before they fired a shot. They were expecting them to be there, and they knew exactly where they were concealed. The information dealers wouldn't have known that. Only someone who knew the plan would know."

Gordon said, "Forgive me, Ms. Sobol, but we've already investigated the people who knew the plan. There is no indication that any of them was in contact with the smugglers. Their records are clean, and our Internal Affairs department hasn't found anything suspicious about any of them."

"The same is true for the CIA personnel involved," Baudin said.

"Nevertheless," Annette said, "whoever tipped off the smugglers had to have that information."

"Who would have known the details of the plan?" Billy asked.

There were uncomfortable looks around the table.

Baudin said, "The details of the plan were finalized in London."

Gordon said, "My staff was involved, naturally. The members of the teams supporting Bennett and Romano. Baudin's people."

"I brought only a handful of staff with me to England," Baudin said. "Romano, of course. My assistant, Georgia. There were a few others who assisted with gathering information and creating cover stories for Romano and Bennett, but they've also been investigated. We haven't found anything suspicious about them."

"There is something else," Annette said. "I noticed that in all of your early planning sessions, Worth's team was supposed to be stationed on the upper levels of the warehouse to act as snipers in case anything went wrong. But, all of your mission reports state that they were on the ground level."

"That's right," Baudin said. "An MI6 man who scouted the area reported that there were large crates on the ground in the warehouse, and we decided that they would make better cover for the team. The upper levels would have made them too visible."

"When was that change made?" Billy asked.

"The day before the mission, the 14th of September," Gordon said.

"Then, whoever informed the smugglers must have known about that change as well," Annette said.

Lee could feel the tension in the room spike. The grief at the discussion of Bennett's death was now replaced with alert, suspicious looks.

Baudin said, "There are only a limited number of people who knew that. Worth and the other four members of his team. Romano and Bennett. Gordon and myself. Our assistants. That's all."

"In other words, besides the other members of Worth's team, only those of you sitting here knew?" Annette asked.

"Yes," Gordon admitted.

There was an uneasy silence as they all looked from one to the other. Baudin finally broke it.

"But, we've investigated all the members of Worth's team," Baudin said. "We've all been under investigation ourselves."

"There is no point in planning another mission yet if the informer is just going to leak the plan like last time," Billy said. "If we can't pinpoint the informer, it might be better to completely start over with a different team."

"That could set us back months!" Gordon said.

"My impression," Annette said, "is that the leak is most likely someone here. It's true that the members of Worth's team knew about their own position in the warehouse, but only Worth knew about the position of the other teams."

Worth's eyes narrowed. "Are you accusing me?"

"Not necessarily," Annette said. "I just think that someone here is most likely the leak."

"We don't know for sure that the leak is in this room," Romano said. "It could still be someone involved in the initial planning who somehow managed to find out about the last minute change."

"What I'd like to know is why the smugglers didn't shoot you," Gordon said suspiciously. "They hit you, but they shot Bennett."

"I don't know!" Romano said. "They knocked me out, and when I came to, Bennett was dead on the ground next to me."

"But it was the man searching you who blew up all of a sudden," Gordon said. "What was in your pockets?"

"Nothing! I already told you, there was nothing in my pockets! I wasn't carrying an ID. I wasn't even armed. My partner and I were depending on MI6 to watch our backs."

"There might not have been anything in his pockets at all," Annette said thoughtfully, looking at Romano. "The person who tipped off the smugglers would naturally arrange for them not to harm him."

Romano glared at her. "Just because you weren't included on the mission the first time doesn't mean you have the right to throw around accusations."

"I was called in as a consultant because your mission failed," Annette said hotly. "I'm trying to help you determine why."

"It wasn't my fault!" Romano's shout silenced everyone at the meeting.

Lee's eyes met Romano's across the table. Romano broke the gaze first, but not before Lee saw the look of pain in his eyes.

Romano got up and wordlessly left the room.

Billy said, "I think we should all take a break. We'll meet back here after lunch. Actually, I'd like to talk to Baudin and Gordon first. The rest of you can join us again at two."

Annette said, "Mr. Melrose, I'd like to be in on that discussion-"

"No," Billy said firmly. "I want to speak to Baudin and Gordon alone."

Lee and Amanda's radios sounded an alert, and one of the guards reported Romano leaving the house.

"Keep an eye on him," Lee said. "I'll be there shortly."

Lee and Amanda hurried off to find out what Romano was up to.

When they were out of earshot of the others, Amanda asked, "Do you think Romano is the leak?"

"I'm not sure," Lee said, "but I didn't like the look in his eyes. When a person says that it wasn't his fault like that, it usually means he believes it was."


	8. Guilty Parties

**Chapter 8: Guilty Parties**

Romano had left the house by the back door around the corner from the ballroom. According to the security guards, Romano was now restlessly pacing around the covered swimming pool, and Lee explained the situation to them.

"Just keep an eye on him, but leave him alone," Lee told the outdoor security team. "Let him come back inside when he's calmed down."

"Do you think that he might be dangerous?" one of the guards asked.

"No, most likely just distraught," Lee said. "Watch him, keep track of where he is and what he's doing, but don't interfere unless you have to."

"Maybe we should try to talk to him," Amanda suggested.

"Not now. Give him a chance to calm down first," Lee said. "We'll check back in about fifteen or twenty minutes and see how he's doing and if he's ready to talk."

"Do you think that the failed mission was really his fault? That he was the informer?" Amanda asked again when they were out of earshot of the guards.

"No, not really," Lee said. "I think it's actually survivor's guilt. Chris Bennett may have been a temporary partner for that mission, but he was still a partner. There's always a sense of guilt when one partner comes back from a mission and the other doesn't."

Amanda's eyes filled with sympathy, and Lee squeezed her hand. Around the time that they first met, he was still blaming himself for the death of his previous partner. Their mission had also gone wrong, and his partner had saved his life at the expense of his own. After that, Lee had insisted on working alone for over a year, driving himself almost to the point of burnout because he couldn't stand the thought of watching another partner die.

"There's something else that I want to tell you. Take Annette Sobol's accusations with a grain of salt when it comes to Romano."

"Why?"

"Remember when I told you that he was a playboy?"

"Yes."

"Well, he and Annette were involved a few years ago. I don't know why they broke up, but it was messy, and they were both reprimanded for unprofessional behavior on a mission because of it. That's why Baudin didn't want to use them both on this mission. They were the two best people for the job, but he doesn't want them working together again because of their personal issues."

"So, he picked Romano and passed up Annette," Amanda said. "You think that she would be bitter enough to frame him for being the leak?"

"She's usually very professional and has a good reputation as an investigator," Lee said. "I doubt that she'd intentionally frame him no matter how bitter she is, but she does have a personal bias here."

"Poor Romano. He needs to talk to somebody," Amanda said.

"We'll talk to him later," Lee said. "Give him a little time first."

Because the meeting broke up early, Lee and Amanda also had some time on their hands.

"Come on," Lee said. "Let's take a turn around the house. We'll check the guards' positions and maybe enjoy the view from the cupola room again."

Lee knew that, more than admiring the view, Amanda would probably try to keep an eye on Romano from the upstairs windows, but that was okay. The cupola room was away from the main public rooms of the house, and the two of them could talk freely there. Except that someone else already had the same idea.

Lee and Amanda heard their voices before they saw them, echoing because of the cupola.

"I think someone saw me," Cynthia said.

"That woman from the Agency saw someone in her room last night, but it wasn't you," Senator Kahler said.

"I mean one of the guards. They almost caught me. They're everywhere."

"It's none of their business. It's your house."

Lee stopped Amanda and put a finger to her lips to tell her to be quiet. Amanda gave Lee a questioning look, and he pointed to an empty room near the door to the cupola room. Lee wasn't sure what Cynthia and the Senator were talking about, but it sounded like a conversation he wanted to hear. Lee pulled Amanda into the empty room, and they stood silently while Cynthia and the Senator talked.

"People are jumpy, and I don't want to scare anyone in the middle of the night."

"You don't want anyone to mistake you for a ghost?" The Senator's voice was teasing. "Your aunt-"

"I'm serious!" Cynthia said shortly.

"I'm sorry. I know things are a little tense. They always are around government meetings. But, I just want to spend some time with you. It's been almost two months since we were able to be together like this."

"We'll have plenty of time together soon enough," Cynthia said soothingly.

"That's true. When we're married, you won't need to worry so much about money. I'll hire some extra people to help you here. Then, you can come to Washington with me, and when we're out here, you can sit next to me at dinner instead of having to serve everybody."

"I don't mind being the hostess."

"You make a good one, but I still want you to myself more often."

"Me, too."

Amanda was looking uncomfortable. Even after about three years with the Agency, she still didn't like listening to what was clearly a private, very personal conversation. It didn't help that it sounded very much like a conversation that she had Lee recently had. But, Lee thought that what they were saying was important, and he was hoping that they'd say more. He held Amanda's arm to keep her in place and began gently rubbing the back of her neck to soothe her.

"Do you still think I'm making a mistake, trying to hold onto this house?" Cynthia asked.

"I know how much it means to you," the Senator said. "I admit that I'd love it if you would move to Washington with me full time, but I understand."

"I doubt anyone would buy it from me anyway. At least, not and leave the house intact."

"Don't worry. Remember, I told you that I would take care of you."

There was a long pause, and Lee imagined the Senator taking Cynthia into his arms. He couldn't see it from where he was, but it was what he would have done with Amanda. What he'd really been planning to do if Cynthia and the Senator weren't there.

"Please, come to me tonight," the Senator said. "I promise I won't let the ghosts get you, or the guards, either."

That sounded uncomfortably familiar, too.

"Please, don't talk about the ghost! I wish everyone would just forget about it."

"That story really bothers you, doesn't it? Is that why you didn't tell me about it before?"

"I just don't want to talk about it."

"Okay . . ."

"I'm sorry. I'm just worried. I really want this event to go well."

"It will be fine. You'll see."

There was another pause, and then Cynthia said, "I hate to leave you, but I'd better make sure they've started on lunch."

"I'll go with you."

Their voices moved closer, and Lee pulled Amanda further back into the room so they wouldn't be seen.

"Albert's making sandwiches for everyone. You know how he gets when he's cooking."

"Making sandwiches isn't cooking. It's stacking food."

"They're hot sandwiches with roasted vegetables. The only one he'll let into the kitchen when he cooks is Aunt Wendy."

"Those two spend a lot of time together, don't they? Sounds like there may be a second wedding in the family soon."

"I wouldn't be surprised."

Soon, their voices were too faint for Lee and Amanda to hear more. Lee slowly poked his head out into the hallway to make sure that they were gone.

"What was that about?" Amanda asked.

"I'm not sure, but I think I might have to let the security guards know to be careful how they respond if they find someone wandering around in the middle of the night."

"It sounds like the Senator was trying to arrange a little private time with his fiance," Amanda said. "Cynthia sounded a little reluctant, though. She would have been really embarrassed if she knew we'd heard."

"Probably," Lee said, "but with the guards looking for intruders, wandering around the house in the middle of the night unannounced wouldn't be a good idea."

"You're not going to tell the guards that the Senator and his fiance are sneaking into each other's rooms, are you?"

"Of course not!" Lee said. "I'm just going to remind them that there are perfectly legitimate reasons why some of the guests or residents of this house might be up in the middle of the night, so they should verify the identity of anyone they see before they react."

"Oh. That's a good idea."

"And I think I've just solved the mystery of who was in Francine's room last night," Lee said smugly.

"What do you mean?"

"It was probably Cynthia, in her night gown, on her way to see her fiance. You heard what she said about one of the guards almost spotting her. When that happened, she got scared and ducked into the first room she saw, and it happened to be Francine's. When Francine woke up and started yelling and tripping over the furniture, she ran off."

Lee was pleased with his explanation. Not only had he solved the mystery, but this explanation meant that the person in Francine's room was harmless, which was an immense relief. That just left Amanda's mystery old woman, and that still could have been a dream. Although, Lee had the uneasy feeling that it wasn't.

"But whoever entered Francine's room had to pick the lock."

"Not Cynthia. She has spare keys for housekeeping purposes."

"And she brought them with her when she was going to see her fiance?"

"Maybe."

"But, the Senator said that it wasn't Cynthia."

"Maybe she just hasn't admitted to him that it was because she's embarrassed."

"The two of them are about to be married, and as far as they knew, they were alone here. If it was her, she could have safely told him just now, and I think a woman would want the man she loves to know about something like that. For one thing, it would make it easier for him to understand why she was reluctant to come visit him again at night. She certainly wouldn't want him to worry that it was because of anything he'd done."

"That's true," Lee said slowly.

So far, Amanda had been pretty straight-forward with him about her feelings. His invitation to her to come to his room if she felt scared during their stay in this house wasn't the first time he'd suggested that she spend the night with him. They'd been together for quite awhile and had gone through a lot together. He loved and trusted her, and she was the most beautiful woman in the world to him.

A couple of months after they'd started officially dating, on an evening when Lee knew that Dotty would be out of town and the boys would be spending the night at Joe's, Lee had suggested to Amanda that she could spend the night at his place, if she wanted to. It had led to a serious talk in which Amanda had told him that, much as she loved him and found the offer tempting, she wasn't ready for that yet. She was enjoying their relationship as it was and wanted to take things slowly. When it came to romance, Amanda was more of a traditionalist than he was, and Lee had to admit that was one of the things that charmed him about her. She always made it plain that she was interested in him for his own sake, not just because he could show her a good time. Still, she was a beautiful woman in every sense of the word, and he loved her deeply, so he had let her know that the invitation was open if she changed her mind. She said that she would let him know. So far, she hadn't, but with the way things were going, Lee felt that it was really a matter of time.

"Also," Amanda continued, "wouldn't it be better for Cynthia in the long run to admit that she was in Francine's room? I mean, stumbling into a guest's room in the middle of the night wouldn't be that great, but not saying anything and scaring Francine was worse. If Cynthia had been there, she could have said that she was just walking through the house, making sure that everything was secure, when she heard a noise from Francine's room and thought something was wrong. Showing concern for a guest would be much better than making people think there was an intruder or perpetuating this ghost story that she seems to hate."

"You've got a point," Lee said. "Then, who do you think Francine saw? The old woman you saw?"

"I'm pretty sure it was a woman," Amanda said. "The long white thing probably was a nightgown. But, I think Francine thinks it was a ghost."

Lee laughed. "Francine? _Francine_ believes in ghosts?"

"Don't laugh, Lee. I think she does."

"Why do you think that? Did she tell you that?"

"No, but she's scared. If it had been an intruder, and Francine was sure of it, she would have grabbed her gun and chased it down."

"She tripped over the furniture."

"But, she didn't grab her gun."

Amanda was right. Lee pictured Francine the way he'd seen her last night, sitting on the floor, in her nightie . . . unarmed.

"You came with your gun drawn, but hers was still on the nightstand," Amanda said.

"She was woken out of a sound sleep. She probably wasn't thinking clearly." Lee was making excuses for Francine, and he knew it. The idea of her believing in ghosts was troubling, but he couldn't think quite why.

"We were all woken out of a sound sleep, but you still grabbed your gun, and she didn't. I think it was because she didn't think it would do her any good."

That image was also disturbing, but Lee pushed it aside.

"There's a logical explanation for what happened," Lee said firmly, "and it has nothing to do with ghosts. Somebody was where they didn't belong last night, for one reason or another, and I'm going to make sure that it doesn't happen again tonight."


	9. A Fascination for the Past

**Chapter 9: A Fascination for the Past**

Lee and Amanda didn't get a chance to talk to Romano that afternoon. They received alerts on their radios when he came back inside, but before they could reach him, he went straight to his room and locked the door. He refused to answer their knocks.

Baudin managed to speak with Romano briefly before he locked himself away and said that he wasn't feeling well and wasn't interested in lunch. Annette said nothing, but her facial expression was contemptuous. Lee had told Amanda many times about the importance of not letting feelings get in the way of their work, but Amanda was beginning to feel that Annette was heartless. Couldn't she see that Romano was suffering because he felt guilty? Unless she believed that Romano really was at fault and should feel guilty.

The meal was good, but the conversation was awkward and full of long pauses. In fact, the only real conversation was between Worth and Francine. Worth was showing serious interest in Francine and spent most of lunch telling her all about what it was like growing up in London. Like Francine, he had also been to boarding school, and the two of them ended up swapping stories of some of their childhood pranks and escapades. Up to now, Francine hadn't seemed that interested in Worth, but discovering something in common with him made her much more friendly. In fact, Amanda had seldom seen Francine so relaxed with someone.

"French was one of my favorite classes," Francine said. "The teacher could be strict, but I had the advantage of growing up with French at home."

"Are you saying that English wasn't your first language?"

"Oh, no, it's just that my mother was from New Orleans, and she spoke French. She insisted that I learn it too, when I was growing up. Even when I was little, I could speak it with our cook, Moline."

"Was New Orleans your home town?"

"Actually, I'm from Boston," Francine said. "We visited New Orleans a few times when I was young, but I didn't spend much time there. Sometimes, I get the feeling that Mother and Moline tried to bring a little of New Orleans with them when they moved to Boston. Some of the stories they used to tell were fantastic."

"Like what?" Worth was grinning in anticipation.

"Oh, all sorts of things. The French Quarter, Mardi Gras, balls, pirates, old plantation houses . . ." Francine stopped.

"Ghosts and voodoo?" Worth guessed with a sly grin.

"Sometimes, yes." Francine tried to act like she'd lost interest in the subject, but Amanda noticed that she fumbled a bit and almost dropped her fork when she reached for her napkin.

Amanda gave Lee a knowing look, but Lee just shrugged.

After lunch, Amanda went upstairs to freshen up. She met Baudin's assistant, Georgia, coming down from the third floor with a sandwich on a plate.

At Amanda's questioning look, she said, "I was trying to see if I could get Michael to eat something, but he wouldn't touch it."

"It's natural for him to be upset under the circumstances," Amanda said, quietly noting the use of the name 'Michael.'

"He took the failure of the mission hard," Georgia said, "especially Bennett's death. I didn't realize that they'd become such good friends. They didn't even know each other that long."

"Sometimes, you don't need long to know that you really like somebody," Amanda said. "You're Romano's friend, too, aren't you? At a time like this, a friend can be a real comfort."

"Yes," Georgia said, smiling a little. "I care about Michael. I'm still worried that they will blame him for what happened on the mission. If they do, his career will be ruined. It means so much to him. It's what he's really wanted all his life."

"Really?"

"He doesn't have to have a career at all," Georgia said. "Not many people know, but he actually comes from a wealthy family. He could do pretty much anything he wants with his life, but he chose this."

Amanda remembered that part of the bio in Romano's file mentioned that his family owned an upscale restaurant in New York City.

"He said that he wanted to make a difference in the world," Georgia continued. "Now . . . I just don't know."

"I know it's hard to believe this now, but I'm sure that things will work out," Amanda said. "We'll get the situation resolved."

"I hope so," Georgia said. "Whatever Annette says, Michael wasn't responsible for what happened. I know that."

Amanda watched her go downstairs, thinking that romantic relationships happened a lot more often in this business than she used to think. Georgia appeared to have feelings for Michael Romano. Like she and Lee, the two of them were probably keeping their relationship quiet for professional reasons, but the way Georgia took him food and defended him to a near stranger spoke volumes. And they weren't the only ones. Worth wasn't making any secret of his interest in Francine, and none of them would even be here if Cynthia Ransom wasn't engaged to Senator Kahler.

"You find love in the oddest places," Amanda thought, shaking her head.

She continued on to her room, but to her surprise, the door was already open. She hadn't left it that way. Carefully, she crept up to the door to have a look.

From inside, she heard someone humming a familiar tune. Slowly, the words to the song came back to her:

"When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along, along!  
There'll be no more sobbin' when he starts throbbin' his old sweet song.  
Wake up! Wake up, you sleepy head! Get up! Get up, get out of bed . . ."

"The Red, Red Robin?" Amanda smiled. It wasn't likely that any intruder or ghost would be humming that.

She walked into her room to find Abigail Ransom making the bed.

"Oh, good afternoon!" Mrs. Ransom said. "I meant to do this before lunch, but with one thing and another, I just wasn't able to get around to it. You know how that is?"

"Absolutely. I'm a mother myself, and I understand. That's okay," Amanda said. "I was just going to freshen up a bit."

She reached for the toiletries case that she had left on top of her suitcase that morning, but it wasn't there. She looked around and spotted it on the night stand.

"Did you put this here?" Amanda asked Mrs. Ransom, picking up her toiletries case.

"No," she said. "That was there when I came in. Is something wrong?"

"No," Amanda said slowly. "No, I suppose Francine must have borrowed something."

That wasn't likely, and Amanda knew it. Francine had brought her own toiletries with her, and she had very strong opinions when it came to cosmetics. Anything Francine used would be of the highest quality, perfectly suited to her natural coloring, and as always, in style. She would have to need something very badly to consider borrowing a substitute from Amanda, and they'd only just arrived here yesterday. It was too soon for her to have run out of anything.

"Francine is the one who was frightened last night?" Mrs. Ransom said. "I heard about it. I told Cynthia that telling guests that ghost story wasn't a good idea, but she was so excited when she found out about it."

"When was that?" Amanda asked.

"Oh, around the time she first had the idea of turning this place into a hotel," Mrs. Ransom said as she tucked the sheets into neat hospital corners. "I thought the hotel was a pretty good idea. This house might not be quite what most people think of when they picture a plantation house, but it has a charm of its own, don't you think?"

"Oh, yes," Amanda said. "So, Cynthia found out about the ghost while researching the history of the house?"

"That's what she said. Personally, I was never really into family history, but Cynthia and her father used to enjoy it. I prefer to focus on things in the present, you know?"

Amanda ignored Mrs. Ransom's rhetorical question and said, "So you've never actually seen the ghost yourself?"

Mrs. Ransom laughed. "Oh, no! I don't think anybody ever has. I've lived here all of my married life, and Joseph never once mentioned it to me before he died."

"Joseph?"

"My late husband, Cynthia's father. I doubt he knew anything about the ghost story, either, or he would have told me long ago. He was like Cynthia, he loved to read and talk about history. You'd think he'd mention it to me that one of his ancestors was killed in the Revolutionary War and was now haunting the house, wouldn't you?"

"Yes-well, um . . . did you say Revolutionary War?"

"That's what Cynthia said. Poor Josiah was killed in the Revolutionary War, and his poor young wife died of a broken heart. Sounds awfully sad, doesn't it?"

"Yes, but are you sure it wasn't the Civil War?"

"The Civil War?"

"I thought Josiah was killed in the Civil War."

Mrs. Ransom frowned as she smoothed down the bed covers. "I don't know. I though Cynthia said the Revolutionary War. But then, I was never really that interested in history. I prefer to live in the present, don't you?"

The wheels were turning in Amanda's head. "Was Charlotte a spy?"

"What?"

"Josiah's wife, Charlotte. Was she a spy?"

"Now that you mention it, I think that was part of the story. As least, I think she had been on the side of the British before she fell in love with Josiah. I do love a good love story! She must have been absolutely enthralled with him! No wonder she was so devastated when he was killed. I mean, any woman would be heart-broken at the death of the man she loved, but not every woman would drop dead on the spot, would she? I loved Joseph very much, but I didn't die when he died. We had a good life together, but one must keep on living in the present-"

"Oh, I agree," Amanda said before she could ask.

"All I remember Joseph telling me about Charlotte was that she wrote poetry. Cynthia framed some of her poems and hung them up in all the guest rooms."

"Yes, I noticed the one in this room. Ode to a Rose."

"That's right. Her poems aren't really to my taste, although Albert seems to like them. But, as I was saying, I wouldn't worry about the ghost, if I were you. I think it's just a story."

Amanda remembered something. "Mrs. Nicholson said that she's seen the ghost, too."

"My sister has an imagination, and a fascination for the past. Just like Cynthia. But, then, that's the stuff of ghost stories, isn't it? Too much imagination and a fascination for the past."

"I'm sure you're right." Amanda was suddenly feeling much better, even though she might have to apologize to Lee.


	10. The Agency's Assistance

**Chapter 10: The Agency's Assistance**

The meeting that afternoon didn't go very well, although there weren't any more outbursts, like the one Romano had that morning. Romano rejoined them, but he sat stony-faced and silent, not even giving Annette a glance.

"What we have to face," Billy said to everyone, "is that the last mission failed because there is a traitor among your team. Whether that leak is here in this room or not, I cannot and will not offer any of my field agents for your next mission until the person responsible has been identified."

There were uneasy glances, and Baudin opened his mouth to say something, but then he seemed to think better of it and closed it again.

Senator Kahler spoke up. "Are you saying then that you feel the mission they've proposed is too risky and should be scrapped altogether?"

"We can't do that!" Gordon insisted. "Our intelligence indicates that a large shipment is due to be smuggled from London to the United States very soon. If we are going to stop these people, the best window of opportunity will be coming soon."

"But Melrose has a point," Annette said matter-of-factly. "If the informant is still at large, the mission will end in failure again, and more lives could be lost."

Romano didn't move, didn't even twitch. He stared straight ahead with his features perfectly composed, but Amanda could see the tension in his hands. They were folded neatly in front of him, but they were clenched tightly, his knuckles noticeably pale.

"This matter is of joint concern to all of us," Gordon said. "We came to the United States for help-"

"We're not refusing to help, as I explained to you earlier," Billy said. "I'm not willing to risk any of my people in the field, but the Agency is prepared to offer our assistance in identifying the informant. As a neutral entity, we may be able to offer a new perspective on the problem."

Gordon's eyes narrowed, and he addressed Senator Kahler, "We asked you for assistance, and your government and your committee assured us that you would provide it."

Senator Kahler said, "We made no promises about what kind of assistance you would receive. As the Agency's representative, Mr. Melrose may offer whatever he feels is appropriate under the circumstances."

Billy said, "I made it clear that we will not participate any further until this matter has been resolved."

"Yes, and I agree that we must find the traitor. But, I would like to remind you that my people and I are not Americans, and we do not have to submit to your interrogation," Gordon said. His right hand clenched into a fist on the table in front of him.

"This isn't an interrogation," Billy said calmly. "This is an investigation, undertaken in cooperation with MI6, into a problem of mutual interest. Think of my people as neutral observers-"

"But you are not neutral observers," Gordon said. "You've already admitted that you and Baudin are old friends as well as fellow countrymen. Your friendship would give you a natural bias."

"I won't be overseeing the investigation," Billy said. "I'm just laying the groundwork for it. You approached my department for manpower, but I cannot supply it unless I know that my people will be reasonably safe."

"There is something else that you should know," Senator Kahler said. "The Intelligence Oversight Committee has suggested the possibility that the Agency might completely replace the CIA in this effort. Unless we can find the individual responsible for the failure of the last mission, everyone who had anything to do with that mission is considered suspect."

Billy looked around the table. "You all know as well as I do that if the informant isn't found, the only alternative would be to completely replace everyone involved with the previous mission and form entirely new teams. But, of course, that would take time, and even though you can replace people, you can't replace knowledge and experience. By the time the new teams are put together and brought up to speed, we'll have lost our window of opportunity."

No one was happy, but no one could argue with what Billy was saying.

"According to each of your reports," Billy said, jabbing the file folders in front of him with his finger, "the crucial time we're looking at is in the 24 hours immediately before the mission began. That was the time period in which your plans were finalized. What I'd like from each of you is an account of your whereabouts during that time. Your reports detail your work at MI6 headquarters, but aside from that, I want to know where you went and who you spoke to during that time. If any outsider was monitoring your activities then, there could be vital clues in the places you went and the people you interacted with."

Worth frowned and said, "It's been over a month. What if we can't remember all of the details of what we did during that day?"

"Record as much as you can remember. Everything you can remember will help. You'll be discussing your recollections with the investigation team. The team will consist of members of our internal investigations department and personnel from the CIA and MI6. They'll use your reports to put together a picture of what happened during that day, and we'll use it to identify the leak."

"And once the leak is identified?" Baudin asked.

"We will deal with that person, and the others will be free to participate in the next mission or move onto other assignments, as necessary."

"Excuse me," Annette said, "but I wasn't part of the last mission."

"No," Billy said, "we won't need an account of your whereabouts during the mission. But, as an expert in dealing with smuggling operations, we would like you to participate in the investigation."

Romano's eyes widened at the news. Now that she knew about their former romance, Amanda could understand his nervousness. Maybe she should ask Lee to tell Billy about it, if he didn't know already.

"You've already heard my assessment of the situation," Annette said. "But, I would be happy to participate and review any new information you can offer."

Again, Amanda felt like Annette must not have any feelings. She was being so cool and matter-of-fact while all the others were plainly nervous and miserable, especially Romano. But then, she wasn't under scrutiny. The others were. They had all actually known the agent who had died on the mission, and as far as Amanda knew, Annette didn't. Whatever her feelings once were for Romano, she was more removed from the situation than they were. Unless, she had more feelings for Romano than she cared to admit.

Romano was watching Annette like a hawk, but she barely even glanced in his direction.

When the meeting broke up and most of the others went to work on their personal recollections of where they'd been and what they'd done before the mission, Billy had a private word with his people.

"You heard what I told the others. I discussed it with Baudin and Gordon when I spoke to them privately. Gordon protested then, too, but Baudin agreed to my terms. Neither of them likes the situation, but with a traitor among them and the Intelligence Oversight Committee breathing down their necks, it's really the best option."

"Sir, will the Agency become more involved with the mission after the informant is found?" Amanda asked.

"The Intelligence Oversight Committee has been strongly recommending it. I discussed it with Dr. Smyth before we left Washington, and he was generally in favor of it, but he also insists on the importance of finding the leak. I would be willing to contribute some of our resources and people once I'm sure that the traitor is apprehended," Billy said. "Internal affairs will soon be taking over the investigation, but I'm interested in what each of you thinks of the people involved so far."

"Romano is obviously suffering from the death of his partner," Amanda volunteered.

"But understandably so," Lee added.

"That outburst of his earlier was troubling," Billy said. "You think he might be burning out?"

"I'm not sure yet," Lee said. "I want to talk to him later. Alone, if I can. Maybe I can get a better idea of his state of mind."

"I think that would be a good idea," Billy said. "In fact, I'd like all of you to talk to these people, get an assessment of their characters. You and Worth seemed to hit it off earlier, Francine. What's your opinion of him so far?"

"I can't speak about his professional qualifications yet," Francine said, "but personality-wise, he's a bit of a show-off and a bit of a flirt. I think it's partly an act."

"An act?"

"I think he's just as worried about what's happened as the others are, but he's covering up for it with light banter."

"Keep talking to him and see if you can draw him out more."

"No problem. The man hardly ever shuts up anyway." In spite of her comment, Francine looked like she kind of liked the idea of that assignment.

Billy ignored Francine's reaction and said, "Amanda?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Remember that incident when Mitch Larner's secretary tried to frame you as an informer?"

"Yes, sir." How could she forget?

"I'd like you to try to get to know Baudin's assistant, Georgia Eastman, and Gordon's assistant, Victoria Sanders. We don't know much about them yet, and I'd like to hear your impressions of them."

"Yes, sir."

Amanda didn't want to mention her conversation with Georgia yet. Her relationship with Lee made her reluctant to discuss Georgia's possible relationship with Romano. It seemed better to wait until she really had to say something. Maybe it wouldn't be necessary.

"Good. That's about all we can do right now, besides keep everyone calm and patient. I'm going to keep talking to Baudin and Gordon."

"Gordon doesn't trust you," Lee said. "He's convinced that you're going to try to blame one of his people just because you and Baudin are old friends."

"Baudin and I are _old_ friends. I mean, we were friends a long time ago. Aside from the Christmas cards, which my wife really sends out in my name, we haven't seen much of each other in years. I couldn't say for sure what he's been involved in recently."

"Then, he's as likely a suspect as anyone else?"

"Exactly," Billy said. "And I want all of you to be careful. Right now, we have these people pretty well contained, surrounded by security, and under investigation. But, if the guilty one really is here, they have to be getting nervous. I want all of you to be on your guard."

There were nods of agreement all around the table.

"If you find reason to suspect anyone in particular, do not try to confront that person alone. I want you to tell me and notify the nearest guards as quickly as possible. Be careful."


	11. Halloween Invitation

**Chapter 11: Halloween Invitation**

Trying to get close to Georgia and Victoria wasn't easy. Amanda knew from the beginning that Victoria would be difficult to talk to. She never said much and didn't seem interested in anything in particular. At dinner that night, Amanda purposely sat next to her and tried to strike up a conversation.

"This pot roast is excellent, isn't it?"

Victoria nodded.

"Pot roast is my favorite dish. My mother likes to make it with succotash."

Victoria gave her a glance and continued eating.

"Do you have a favorite meal?"

Victoria shook her head and shrugged.

Gordon was watching Amanda's efforts with a little smile. "Victoria never says much. I consider that a benefit. Too many people talk when they really have nothing to say."

Amanda laughed lightly but wondered if he was grouping her among those who kept talking even when they had nothing to say.

"Conversation is certainly an art," she said. It was the deepest thing she could think of to say to keep the conversation going.

"Yes," Gordon said. "Most of us fall back on small talk instead of really saying what we want to say."

That definitely sounded like bait.

"What I'd really like to say is that I love pot roast," Amanda declared.

Gordon laughed and raised his glass to her. Victoria said nothing but smiled at her.

Lee wasn't making any progress with Romano, either. Romano was picking at his food, brooding. Georgia sat beside him, giving him sympathetic glances and urging him to eat a little more, but it didn't seem to be doing any good. Lee didn't say anything to Romano, just looked him over like he was trying to get his measure.

Across the table, Francine was having better luck. As usual, Worth was paying close attention to her, and they were having an animated conversation about horoscopes.

"You know, I knew that you were a Scorpio when we first met," Worth said.

"Really?" Francine was giving him her best I'm-So-Impressed look. Her bright blue eyes were wide, and she leaned toward him to catch his every word.

Amanda had seen her do this before when she was trying to get on a man's good side. She was obviously taking Billy's order to learn more about Worth seriously, and so far, she seemed to be enjoying her work.

"Scorpios are always intense. They have a natural magnetism . . ."

Worth seemed to have forgotten that other people could hear him. Gordon was trying not to smile, and Billy was looking distinctly unimpressed, as he always did when Francine insisted on talking about astrology and reading everyone's horoscopes in the newspaper.

" . . . but the most telling feature is the eyes," Worth was saying. "Scorpios always have the most beautiful eyes."

Billy and Lee rolled their eyes at each other, and Gordon coughed discretely.

"Aww," Francine said, giving Worth her most charming smile.

"Scorpios also tend to be psychics," Mrs. Nicholson said suddenly. "It is the most mystical sign in the zodiac."

Most of the people sitting at the table gave her blank looks. Cynthia looked like she could drop dead of embarrassment.

"You must join me in the library this evening! Halloween is an ideal time for foretelling the future," Mrs. Nicholson said.

Amanda had almost forgotten that tonight was Halloween night. Her boys would be going to the haunted house soon, if they weren't there already.

"That sounds fascinating," Francine said.

"I think you would enjoy it, and I'm sure your presence would add much to the evening."

"I think that it's time to bring dessert in," Cynthia said, trying to distract her aunt.

"If you'd care to join me, I was planning to begin after dinner."

"I'd love to!" Francine's enthusiasm wasn't feigned this time. Her interest in fortune telling was real.

"We have pumpkin pie and hot cider for dessert," Cynthia said. She was speaking loudly, trying to get her aunt's attention.

Amanda suspected why Cynthia was so nervous, and her suspicions were soon confirmed.

"If you join me, you might even be able to see Charlotte."

"Charlotte?" Francine's enthusiasm dimmed.

"Yes, she's my spiritual guide. I can always feel her in the library."

Cynthia had to walk all the way around the table to reach her aunt, and it was a large table.

"They say that Scorpios are the most spiritual sign. I've never been able to see her, but you might."

Now, Francine was looking distinctly uneasy. Cynthia had almost reached her aunt.

"I'll join you, too!" Worth said brightly, not noticing Francine's sudden discomfort. "I'm a Scorpio, too."

Now, that was a lie. Amanda knew it was because she remembered seeing in Worth's file that his birthday was in March, like Philip's. Francine had seen his file, too, but she didn't call him on it. For one thing, she was trying to keep on his good side, and for another, Cynthia interrupted.

She had reached her aunt, and she said only two words, "Dessert. Now!" The words came out as an angry hiss, but her aunt didn't seem too concerned.

"Anyone else who wishes to join us can," Mrs. Nicholson said brightly.

The suggestion met with little enthusiasm from the others, but Amanda said, "I'll come."

Cynthia gave her an irritated look, but Amanda just smiled back. She hadn't had a chance to talk to Francine about what Mrs. Ransom had said, but if what she suspected was right, she wanted to be there for the fortune telling. Cynthia was practically boiling, but Amanda didn't feel any sympathy for her. Senator Kahler was giving Cynthia a curious look.

Francine flashed a puzzled but grateful look at Amanda and said, "Yes, we'd love to see it."

"Wonderful!" Mrs. Nicholson said. "I'll just go get the dessert."

If looks could kill, Cynthia would have added another ghost or two to Ransom Creek that night.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Today is Jestress's birthday! :D It's not important to the story, she's just celebrating. ;)


	12. Fortune Telling

**Chapter 12: Fortune Telling**

"I thought we agreed that you wouldn't do that this year!"

"Cynthia, dear, Halloween only comes once a year."

"We have important guests!"

"And they will enjoy it as much as I do. You saw how enthusiastic they were."

Amanda lingered by the dining room doors, listening to Cynthia and her aunt clearing the table. A light tap on her shoulder caused her to jump.

Lee was there, putting a finger lightly to her lips and motioning for her to follow him.

"What are you doing?" he asked when they were farther away from the dining room door.

"Just listening. Cynthia is upset about her aunt's fortune telling, and I think I know why."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you after it's over. Are you going to stay and watch?"

"There's something else I have to do. Romano's gone off by himself to the sun room, and I think this would be a good chance to talk to him. I want to hear his account of what happened again, without anyone else there to comment on it. I would have you come with me, but getting Romano to open up is going to be difficult. I know where he's coming from, so I think it would be better for me to handle it myself."

"I understand," Amanda said. "Don't worry about me. I think that the fortune telling is going to be exciting enough to keep me occupied."

Lee gave her a suspicious look. "Is there something you know that I don't?"

"Maybe. We'll see once the fortune telling begins."

"You're not going to do anything dangerous, are you?"

"Of course not. I just think it will be an interesting performance. And I won't be alone. Francine will be there the whole time."

"I'm not sure what you're up to, but you be careful and stick with Francine this evening, okay?"

"Okay. I'll tell you all about it when it's over."

Lee gave her a worried look, and she added, "I'll be fine, you go on."

She would have preferred to have Lee there during the fortune telling because she had the feeling that the "ghost" was going to make another appearance, but Romano was important. Even if it turned out that he didn't know anything that would help, the poor man was suffering, and Lee would be the best person to understand what he was going through.

Francine and Worth were already in the library when Amanda entered. Francine was nervous but doing a good job of pretending that she wasn't. The only clue to her edginess was in the way she whipped her head around to look at Amanda when she came in. Francine wasn't ordinarily so jumpy. She laughed lightly at something Worth whispered in her ear, but the laugh was a little louder than her normal laugh. She was trying too hard to be normal. Amanda had hoped to get a moment to talk to Francine before they got started, but that was going to have to wait. Worth wasn't going to give her a chance to get a word in edgewise.

He was sitting next to Francine at the library table, their chairs so close together that their hips were practically touching. The only other person in the room was Georgia, looking very much like a third wheel next to the other two. She smiled gratefully when she saw Amanda come in. Amanda took a seat between her and Francine.

"Here for the fortune telling?" Amanda asked brightly. She ignored the eye-rolling Francine gave her for asking such an obvious question.

"Yes," she said. "I haven't done anything like this since I was about 12, and my friends and I found an old Ouija board. All it said for my future was 'traveler.' Travel is nice, but it was pretty spooky. Maybe I'll have better luck tonight."

"I'm not sure I believe in fortune telling, but I'm curious," Amanda said.

"There isn't really much else to do this evening anyway," Georgia said. In a lower voice, she added, "Michael doesn't feel like talking. He told me that he wanted to be alone."

Her downcast expression touched Amanda's heart.

"Lee said that he was going to try to talk to him," Amanda said. "Maybe it will help."

"I'm worried that nothing will be the same with him again."

"Give it time," Amanda advised.

"Is everyone ready?"

Mrs. Nicholson entered, trailed by Cynthia and Senator Kahler. Mrs. Nicholson still wore the plain brown dress she'd worn when she helped to serve dinner with a small gold pin in the shape of an autumn leaf. Her outfit had looked sedate and dignified then, but now she'd topped it off with a long fringed shawl in an explosion of reds, yellows, and oranges. It was as if she'd grabbed a pile of fallen leaves and somehow made it into a cape. Her unruly mop of gray curls was surrounded by a dark red headband, decorated with rhinestones. She held a pack of cards in one hand and a lit candle in the other.

"This is going to be such fun!" Mrs. Nicholson giggled, spoiling her image as a serious fortune teller. "I usually have to do this by myself."

Amanda was surprised to see Cynthia there. Actually, she had suspected that she'd be there, just not _there_ there. She had been so sure . . . now she was rethinking what she expected would happen tonight.

Cynthia looked like she'd rather be anywhere else than the library tonight, but Senator Kahler kept his arm around her, gently but firmly steering her to a chair at the table. He held it for her in a gentlemanly way as she sat down. She gave him a quizzical look, and Amanda had the distinct impression that she was only there at his request. The Senator smiled and held her hand when he sat next to her.

"We should have low lightning for this," Mrs. Nicholson said. She set the candle in the middle of the table and turned off the library lights.

The candle's glow was only bright enough to light the table and the faces around it, leaving the corners of the room in darkness.

"OOOOoooooooo!" Worth said softly in Francine's ear.

"Shh!" Francine said, elbowing him in the side.

"There are many ways to predict the future on Halloween night," Mrs. Nicholson said as she took her seat. "When we were young, we would try to see our future husbands in the mirror at midnight. But now, my favorite method is to use playing cards."

"How does that work?" Amanda asked. Even though she had ulterior motives for being there, she was genuinely curious about what Mrs. Nicholson was going to do.

"There are different ways to do it, but tonight, we'll do a short, general reading for each of you, and then, if you want, each of you will have the chance to ask a specific question and receive an answer. The answers are determined by the cards that are dealt to you."

"What do you mean?"

"I will help you with the interpretation."

"Do we have to hold hands or anything?"

Worth immediately took Francine's hand.

"That won't be necessary," Mrs. Nicholson said. Worth ignored her. "For this to work, you must ready your mind. Halloween is the one time of year that bridges the spiritual and the physical. It bridges the past and the future. It is my hope that Charlotte, whose spirit still lingers in this room, will help us to form that bridge. Meditate on this. Then, clear your mind as much as possible. Focus your mind on one thing that is most important to you and your future."

Francine was the only one at the table who seemed to understand what she was talking about. As she readied her mind, she closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath. Worth's eyes darted immediately to her chest as she did so, making it clear that there was already only one thing on his mind.

Cynthia's eyes met the Senator's, and he squeezed her hand. Georgia stared into the candle flame. Amanda looked at all of their faces and then into the corners of the room, as far as she could see past the little circle of light around the table. As far as she could tell, there was nothing stirring in the darkness.

"Concentrate, concentrate," Mrs. Nicholson intoned as she shuffled the cards. "I will do my fortune first, so you can see how it's done."

A few more shuffles, and Mrs. Nicholson quickly dealt three cards out in front of her: the queen of spades, the two of diamonds, and the six of hearts. She studied them with care and then squealed in delight.

"What?" Georgia asked. "What is it?"

"I knew we would do well tonight! The first card is about the past, and it says that I am a widow, which is true. The two of diamonds indicates my present situation, which is a business partnership with my family. It also indicates a changing relationship. Possibly gossip. The third card points to the future, and it says that I will soon have good luck, most likely someone who will think warm thoughts about me and take an interest in my welfare. Now, I will ask a question. We must all focus."

She shuffled the cards again, murmuring, "Who is this person? Who cares for me?"

She laid down the king of diamonds.

"It's an older man. He is ruled by the element of earth. I knew it! Oh, this is wonderful!" Mrs. Nicholson was getting really excited now. Cynthia just looked bewildered.

"But, everyone should get a turn! Who would like to go next?" Mrs. Nicholson gathered up the cards and shuffled them again.

No one else spoke up, so Amanda said, "I guess I will."

"Good. Concentrate, dear. Think about your past, your present, your future, and what is most important to you. Concentrate."

Amanda was still wary about what was going to happen, but Mrs. Nicholson's words brought images to her mind: her boys, her mother, Lee. What was Lee doing right now?

Mrs. Nicholson dealt three cards on the table: the king of clubs, the king of hearts, and the two of hearts.

"Oh, this is fascinating!" Mrs. Nicholson said.

"Why what does it mean?" Amanda asked.

"The king of clubs means that you once had a man in your life, a dark-haired man who was kind and generous but spirited. But, now you have a new man. He is fair-haired and affectionate, ruled by the element of water. He doesn't speak much, but when he does, he provides helpful advice. He prefers to let his actions show you how much he cares."

Mrs. Nicholson looked to Amanda for confirmation of what she said. Amanda smiled awkwardly but didn't want to comment. That would have been too dangerous. It was a disturbingly accurate description of the men in her life. Francine was already giving her a suggestive look with raised eyebrows.

Since Mrs. Nicholson was still looking at her for a reaction, Amanda just said, "That sounds like quite a description from just two playing cards."

"Those cards are very specific. It's possible that you are very in tune with the spirits," Mrs. Nicholson said. "Your future looks excellent. The two of hearts symbolizes a partnership filled with warm feelings, strength, and support, possibly even an engagement."

"Do tell," Francine said with a wicked smile. Amanda had the feeling that she'd be teasing her and Lee about this for weeks.

"Is there anything you'd like to ask about your future?" Mrs. Nicholson asked.

"Yes, let's hear more about this fair-haired man," Francine said slyly.

"Shh!" Mrs. Nicholson said. "Don't break her concentration."

"Actually, I'd like to ask how my boys are doing right now," Amanda said. They hadn't been far from her thoughts this evening and were certainly a much safer topic than Lee.

"Your boys?"

"Yes. I have two sons. They were supposed to go to a haunted house this evening with their father, but I'm worried that it will be too scary for them because it's really for older kids. Can you tell me how they're doing?"

Francine looked disappointed and a little disgusted.

Mrs. Nicholson said, "Let's see. Concentrate on your boys. Concentrate."

The next card was the five of diamonds.

"It's a good card," Mrs. Nicholson explained. "It means a change for the better. Sometimes, it can mean a birth, but sometimes it means good news for a child in your life. Your sons are doing fine."

"That's a relief," Amanda said.

"Who would like to go next?" Mrs. Nicholson asked.

"Francine will," Amanda said.

Francine was too professional to make a face at her, but she was good at glaring, so that's what she did.

Francine's past featured a person with fickle affections, which Francine confirmed by mumbling, "Story of my life." Her present included a surprise gift, visit, or party invitation. Since they were taking part in an odd kind of impromptu Halloween party while visiting this old mansion, it seemed pretty obvious. Her future seemed to center around a warm-hearted friend, a fair-haired young man. Worth was grinning like the Cheshire cat, but Francine didn't even look at him to see it.

When Mrs. Nicholson allowed her to ask a question, Francine had to think for a moment. Amanda had the feeling that she knew what Francine really wanted to ask, but her professionalism wouldn't let her ask it in front of witnesses. Instead, she just asked if there was any advice that would be helpful for her.

The card that Mrs. Nicholson revealed was the four of clubs.

"That means that you should beware because someone is trying to deceive you," Mrs. Nicholson said. "People around you are not what they seem to be."

That hit close to the reason why they were there in the first place. Francine gave the others in the room a wary look. Then, she kind of chuckled and said, "That's the story of my profession."

Amanda peered into the darkness around them again. She still didn't see anything. Maybe she'd been wrong.

Worth was there mainly as an excuse to spend time with Francine, so he didn't really pay much attention as Mrs. Nicholson read his future. Francine was the only one who seemed interested that Mrs. Nicholson's cards correctly noted that he had recently suffered bad luck (on his last mission). He did like it that she said his present included an affectionate fair-haired woman, represented by the queen of hearts. ("Really?" he said, giving Francine a knowing look.) His future included changes in his job and the possibility of finding love while traveling.

"I'd be in favor of that," he said cheerfully.

"Is there anything else you'd like to ask?"

"Not really. What you said is good enough."

"Oh, come on! Everyone else asked a question," Francine said. "Go ahead and ask something."

"Alright. Is there any advice for me?" Worth wasn't paying attention to Mrs. Nicholson anymore. He seemed more intent on studying the way the candlelight played with the highlights in Francine's hair.

Mrs. Nicholson turned over the seven of spades. "There will be an obstacle to your success, an obstacle that will come from within. If you take bad advice, you could lose."

"Hmm. I understand." Because he was still looking at Francine, Amanda doubted whether he'd even heard.

"My turn!" Georgia said brightly.

According to the cards, her past included travel and a change of home or business. Her present centered around a fiery, dark-haired young man. Romano immediately came to mind. Georgia smiled shyly. But, then the fortune turned darker.

Mrs. Nicholson frowned and said, "There will be misfortune in your future. The ace of spades signifies a death or a difficult ending."

Georgia was clearly disturbed, but she tried to laugh it off. "I don't think the cards like me very much."

"It isn't about like or dislike," Mrs. Nicholson said. "But, telling the future is difficult. It might not mean what it sounds like it means, and things can always change. Would you like to ask a question?"

"Is there anything I can do about the misfortune?" Georgia asked. Amanda heard a slight quiver in her voice.

The answer came in the form of the two of spades. Mrs. Nicholson frowned at it.

"Well?" Georgia asked. The quiver was more definite now.

"There are different ways to interpret it," Mrs. Nicholson said. "A lot depends on the kind of misfortune you want to avoid. According to this card, something in progress in your life is going to end. There could be a change in relationships, but it isn't obvious how. There may be deceit on the part of someone you've trusted. A romantic relationship may end."

Georgia wasn't interested in playing this game anymore. "I think I've heard enough."

That was when Amanda thought she saw something. It was in the corner, behind Georgia. A form in the darkness.

"Who's there?" Amanda called.

Heads turned.

"What?" Georgia asked.

"What do you mean?" Cynthia demanded.

"There's someone there! Behind Georgia!" Amanda said, pointing to the corner of the room.

Francine stood and said, "There is! I think I see someone. Who are you?"

"I don't see anyone," Senator Kahler said.

"I've had enough!" Georgia exploded and stormed out of the room. She threw open the library door, and light streamed in from the entry hall.

Amanda heard the guards ask Georgia what the matter was, but she didn't hear her reply. A moment later, one of the guards stuck his head in and asked if anything was wrong.

"We thought that someone might have come in here," Senator Kahler said. "But, we don't see anyone now."

The light from the entry hall was enough for them to see the room clearly, and Amanda couldn't see the shape that she thought she'd seen moments before.

Francine had leapt to her feet and was searching the corner now. Worth got up and helped her. They looked behind a reading chair and even under the desk, but they found no one.

"There's no one here," Francine said. "I could have sworn that I saw a shadow."

"Me, too!" Amanda said.

"It must have just been a trick of the light," Senator Kahler said. "Candlelight can play tricks like that."

"Is everything alright then?" the guard asked.

Amanda and Francine looked at each other, but neither of them knew what to say.

"Everything is fine," Senator Kahler said. "You may go."

The guard left, closing the door behind him.

"Maybe we should call it a night," Cynthia said uneasily. "I think I've had enough of this, too."

"Wait," the Senator said. "I still want to hear my fortune."

"But after what-"

"It's okay." The Senator's voice was firm.

Francine and Worth took their seats again, Francine giving Amanda an uneasy glance.

Mrs. Nicholson shuffled the cards and dealt three for Senator Kahler. By an odd coincidence, all three of them were tens.

"I see that you have been successful in business. You also may have found romance while traveling. Of course, I knew that already."

Cynthia didn't seem impressed, but the Senator smiled happily and put an arm around her.

"Your present is filled with worries. You may have received some bad news recently."

"Ben . . ." There was a note of warning in Cynthia's voice.

"Shh," the Senator said.

"But your future looks good. The cards predict good luck and success after a period of difficulties."

"I thought so," the Senator said, giving Cynthia a squeeze.

"Is there anything that you'd like to ask?"

"Yes," the Senator said. "There is someone in my life who is troubled and needs my support. What should I do to help her?"

Cynthia looked a little embarrassed at her fiance asking such a personal question in front of other people.

Mrs. Nicholson dealt another card and said, "The five of spades can indicate a person who is depressed or thinking negatively about something, but it also means that obstacles are temporary. Things that appear to be problems are actually blessings in disguise."

"That sounds good," the Senator mused. "If she understands that, I think it would help."

Cynthia looked down at the table, avoiding his gaze.

"But since it looks like I've got a pretty good poker hand going here, let me try for one more. How do I tell her that I love her no matter what happens, and that I'll stand by her whether her luck is good or bad?"

Cynthia gazed at him. It could have been a trick of the candlelight, but Amanda thought there were tears in her eyes. Mrs. Nicholson was beaming at her niece as she turned over the Senator's fifth card.

"The three of clubs. It symbolizes love and happiness, a successful marriage. Any long-term plans you make will be successful, and if you're concerned about money, you'll have a second chance to make things work out the way you want them to."

"You're just saying that," Cynthia said accusingly.

"No, the cards are," Mrs. Nicholson said.

"And I agree with them," the Senator said firmly. "I love you, and I think we'd be successful at anything we set out to do."

Before Cynthia could protest, the Senator pulled her into his arms and kissed her in front of everyone. There were smiles all around the table at his declaration of love, and when it ended, Cynthia wasn't too embarrassed to say, "I love you, too."

Sensing her niece's need to be alone with her fiance, Mrs. Nicholson picked up the candle and turned on the library lights. Everyone blinked in the sudden light.

"I don't know about all of you," she said, "but I could use some tea. No, don't get up, Cynthia. I'll make it. I'll bring it to the drawing room when it's ready."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Amanda said, getting up.

They all left Cynthia and her fiance gazing into each other's eyes.


	13. A Quiet Drink

**Chapter 13: A Quiet Drink**

While Amanda was having her fortune told in the library, Lee tracked Romano down. He had holed up in the sun room with a bottle of scotch he had swiped from the Ransoms' liquor cabinet. Lee borrowed a second glass for himself and poured three fingers of iced tea into it from a carafe left in the dining room. There wasn't much ice left in it, but that was okay. It would still give the impression that he wanted to give.

He didn't want to get drunk, but it was important for him to be drinking something. If he sat down in front of Romano without a drink in his hands while Romano was drinking, it would be an interrogation instead of a friendly conversation, and that was the last thing Lee wanted. Romano wouldn't open up to him if it looked like their conversation was in any way official. The tea would look enough like an alcoholic drink as long as Romano didn't look at it too closely or try to smell it.

The sun room was now anything but sunny. It was pitch black outside, and the large windows now acted like mirrors, reflecting the dim light from the lantern-shaped lamps in the corners of the room and the unhappy man who was drinking alone there.

"I don't feel like talking to anybody right now," Romano said as soon as he saw Lee. He turned his head to the windows, even though he couldn't see anything there except for his own reflection.

"That's okay," Lee said, taking a small sip of his tea. He flopped into a chair near Romano. "I was just looking for somewhere quiet myself. The others are having their fortunes told for Halloween. Silly, huh?"

Romano took a swig of scotch and didn't say anything. Lee drank a little more of his tea and studied his reflection in the glass. It wasn't a particularly good one because the glass was a little warped. It was important not to rush this. Romano would just get up and storm off if he pushed. Lee counted the glass panes in the windows and waited to see if Romano would start talking.

Romano didn't. He stared into his glass of scotch for awhile. At least, he was nursing his drinks. He wouldn't be likely to say much of anything that would make sense if he was drunk. A quick glance at the bottle of scotch showed that it was nearly full. He hadn't had much yet.

Lee studied Romano, starting with his reflection in the windows. The man was leaning forward, elbows on his knees, his legs back against the chair, a tense stance. He needed to do something to loosen him up a little.

As Romano finished his drink and started pouring himself another, Lee said, "You know what I think? I think it's really about romance."

"Huh?" Romano looked at the bottle, justifiably confused. Lee had hoped that this odd comment would get his attention.

"This fortune telling stuff. I think it's about romance. Love and sex." He added the last part to be especially attention-grabbing.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, whenever I've heard women talk about the stars and astrology and fortune telling and stuff, it's usually about their love lives. They're trying to predict when they're going to meet Mr. Right or at least Mr. Alright-for-now." He mentally thanked Francine for all the astrological commentary and advice he'd half-tuned out over the years.

"I guess so. I don't believe in that stuff." It wasn't much, but at least Romano was talking.

"Me neither. But Mrs. Nicholson's a widow, right?" Lee said. "She's probably lonely and thinking about a second marriage and wondering what's in the cards. Literally."

Romano actually chuckled at that. "Nice lady, but seems a little old to be thinking about romance."

"Does love know any age?"

"No. Sex might."

"How do you know?"

Romano gave him a cock-eyed grin and said, "If you're thinking of making a play for Mrs. Nicholson, you don't have to worry about any competition from me."

Lee laughed, "No, I'm not thinking of that, but there are other possibilities, aren't there?"

"That partner of yours? I wouldn't blame you there." Romano's grin got bigger. The scotch he'd had so far was starting to loosen him up and make him bold. That was good, but Lee wanted to steer the conversation away from Amanda.

"She's pretty," Lee said, careful to keep his voice neutral, "but she's not the only one."

"Oh?"

"Cynthia Ransom's spoken for, but Francine's available. I think that's why Worth's joining in the fortune telling game."

"Trying to see what's in the cards with her, huh?"

"Wouldn't surprise me."

"I wouldn't blame him."

They both took long sips of their drinks. Lee finished off his iced tea, and Romano offered to pour him another drink. In the interest of establishing good will, Lee accepted some scotch from him.

"Think he's got a chance with her?" Romano was starting to get conversational. Good.

"Who knows? I've given up trying to figure out what Francine's type is. But, I think that she's hoping to find a wealthy prince someday."

"Money isn't everything," Romano said philosophically. "It can buy you a lot of things, but not the really important things."

"What's really important?" Lee asked. This was heading in a good direction.

"Friendship, loyalty. A sense of purpose, honor. Love. I guess you can buy sex, but that would be illegal and nowhere near as good."

"I won't ask how you know that," Lee said.

Romano just laughed.

Lee liked the way Romano was talking. A man who valued friendship, honor, and loyalty over money wasn't likely to sell out. Assuming that Romano was being honest about that, of course.

"Then there's Annette. Actually, I'm not sure if she's with the fortune telling group," Lee said. "I didn't see her downstairs when they were getting together."

Romano shook his head. "She wouldn't be. She doesn't believe in that kind of stuff."

"What about love?" Lee asked. "Does she believe in that?" Romano might or might not know that Lee was aware of their past relationship, but Lee wanted to see how much Romano would confide in him.

"She doesn't believe in that much, either," Romano said sadly. "I think she wants it, but she doesn't know what to do with it when she has it. She's only comfortable in situations when she's in charge, dealing with hard facts, not feelings. Love doesn't work like that. She doesn't know how to really open up to people." Romano seemed to be opening up just fine with a couple of drinks in him.

Since talking about women was working, Lee said, "What about Georgia? She seems pretty sweet. Do you suppose she's looking for love?"

"No!" The strength of Romano's reaction surprised him.

"So she's already taken?" Lee asked tentatively.

"You could say that." Romano was trying to keep his voice neutral, but the scotch allowed a trace of emotion to creep in, and his hand went reflexively to the chain around his neck.

Lee could have prodded further, but he decided that it would be better not to. There were other things he wanted to talk to Romano about, and besides, office romances weren't a safe subject for him. So, he just said, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good," Romano said. He was still fiddling with the chain around his neck, pulling the medallion on it free from his shirt. It was round and gold, and it glinted even in the in the dim light.

"Interesting necklace," Lee said. "What's on it?"

"It's a religious medal, St. Michael."

"Your namesake?" Lee guessed.

"No. A friend gave it to me. For protection." Romano tucked the medallion back into his shirt.

Lee ignored the identity of the giver. It wasn't his business. It was time to test the waters on more difficult topics.

"I suppose it worked," Lee ventured. "You did survive your last mission when you could have been killed."

Romano's face twisted angrily. "I thought you were going to pump me for information about that."

"No," Lee lied. "I genuinely think that you were lucky. I know that you might not feel lucky, but you were. Losing a partner hurts, but there's someone out there who cares about you and would feel exactly the same if they'd lost you."

Romano put a hand to his chest, where the necklace lay, and took a swig of his scotch.

"I don't know who betrayed us, but I'd kill that person if I knew."

"I know," Lee said. "I killed the person who shot my partner."

"Your partner?"

"My partner before Amanda."

"Oh."

"He died saving my life. I didn't think I could work with another partner again until I met Amanda."

Romano smiled again, but not as broadly as before. "I told you I wouldn't blame you . . ."

"It's not like that," Lee lied again.

"Sure, it isn't."

Lee steered the conversation back to Chris Bennett. "You and Bennett were close?"

"We didn't know each other for long, but I liked him," Romano said.

"Some friendships don't last long enough."

"No, they don't."

Lee let Romano take another sip of his scotch.

Then, Romano surprised him by volunteering, "I really don't know why I survived."

"Every survivor feels that way," Lee said. "You always wonder, 'Why was it someone else and not me?'"

"I'm not talking about survivor's guilt. I totally get that. What I mean is I really don't see why they didn't kill me. They could have. They totally could have! The guy who was searching me hated me. I could see it in his eyes. Then, he just hit me. The next thing I knew, I woke up, and Chris was dead. If they shot him, why didn't they just shoot me? It doesn't really make sense."

"I don't know," Lee said. That was the truth. But, was Romano telling the truth?

"I know, you're probably wondering if they spared me because I helped them, right?"

"No, I don't think that." Lee wasn't sure what to think.

"I think that's what the others think. But, I'm still sticking to my story. All I know is that the guy opened my jacket to search me, and then he yelled, 'You!' and hit me."

"Wait, what?"

"He yelled, 'You!' and hit me," Romano repeated.

"I don't remember that part being in your report."

Romano frowned. "I was sure I said that he yelled at me before he hit me. Maybe I didn't say exactly what he yelled. Does it matter?"

"I don't know. You also just said that he opened your jacket to search you. Did he actually search you, or did he just open your jacket?"

Romano frowned. "I . . . I think he searched me. It all happened so fast. Then, he hit me on head and knocked me unconscious. My thoughts were pretty muddled when I came to."

"So you might not remember exactly what happened, whether he searched you or not? Or what he yelled?"

"The yell was the last clear thing I remember before I woke up. It's funny, but I remember that I woke up thinking, 'You what?' I mean, I thought maybe he was starting to insult me, call me something like 'You bastard.' But, he didn't finish it. Or maybe he did, but I didn't hear the end because I was knocked out. Weird, huh? But, I have to admit, I wasn't thinking clearly then. And I swear, there was nothing in my pockets, absolutely nothing! I checked before we got there, just to be sure. It wouldn't have mattered if they'd searched me or not because there was nothing to find."

Lee was staring at Romano, trying to think like the smugglers were. They were seeing the man not much differently than he was. By the time he and his partner had walked into the warehouse, the smugglers had known that both of them were plants. There was no need to search them for ID to prove it. A part of Lee's mind had been wondering, why bother to search them at all? What had they been looking for? Weapons? They had come unarmed, and the smugglers might have even known that at the beginning. Assuming that there was nothing for them to find in his pockets, there was something important about his appearance, something that they had been looking for.

"Romano, who gave you that medallion?"

"A friend."

"I need to know who. It's important."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"Well, then I don't need to tell you!" Romano snapped.

A sudden movement caught Lee's eye. He saw it in the glass, but it came from the direction of the door. Someone had been standing there, listening. Someone who moved when Romano raised his voice. Lee whirled around, but the other person was gone.

"What?" Romano asked.

"I thought I saw someone."

They both got up and looked down the hallway.

"I don't see anyone," Romano said.

"I think she left."

"She?"

"I didn't get a good look at her, but I think it was a woman."


	14. Charlotte the Poet

**Chapter 14: Charlotte the Poet**

The drawing room was filled with light and people talking. Billy, Baudin, and Gordon had drifted in after the fortune telling was over, drawn by the smell of hot chocolate, which Mrs. Nicholson had made as well as tea. Mrs. Nicholson's hot chocolate and the bright cheeriness of the drawing room did a lot to raise Amanda's spirits, but she was still puzzled about the "spirit" that she and Francine had seen during the fortune telling. She'd been expecting something to happen, but her chief suspect had been right there, at the table with them. She couldn't have been over in the corner. It was true that she hadn't seen the person clearly, but she was sure that there had been someone there, and Francine had seen it, too.

Francine was curled up on the sofa next to Worth, clutching her mug of hot chocolate. Worth had his arm around her and was speaking softly to her. Francine was staring at Charlotte's portrait again.

Amanda had to admit that it was a captivating portrait. From the first time she'd seen it, she'd been fascinated by the eyes. They were beautiful, but there were hidden depths, too. Cynthia's eyes were like that, and the same color.

Then, Amanda noticed something else about the portrait, something that hadn't occurred to her before. It was so obvious, she wondered why she hadn't seen it earlier, and it confirmed what she'd started to suspect about Cynthia and Charlotte.

Amanda looked at Francine. She was still looking at the painting like she'd seen a ghost. And that was the problem.

"Just remember that I'm on the third floor, the Sparrow Room," Worth saying to Francine. "If anything frightens you during the night, you can always come to me."

The offer sounded very familiar to Amanda, and while Worth was probably trying to be chivalrous, she needed to talk to Francine immediately.

"Don't worry about it," Francine was telling Worth. "One of my colleagues is in the room next to mine, the Rose Room at the end of the hallway on the second floor. That's really the haunted room-"

"Francine?" Amanda said, coming up behind him. "Oh, sorry." She wasn't sure which of them was startled enough to shake the mug in Francine's hands and splash chocolate on her.

"Here." Worth pulled out his handkerchief.

He started to dab at Francine with it, but Francine took the handkerchief from him to finish the job herself. Worth gave her a sheepish look, and Amanda wondered briefly whether the spilled chocolate was really accidental.

"I'm really sorry to interrupt," Amanda said. "I just need to talk to Francine for a moment."

"Oh," Worth said. "Alright. I'm going to go upstairs. You can keep the handkerchief for now. I'll get it back from you later. Goodnight, Francine."

Francine glared at Amanda and pointed to the stain on her blouse. "Was that necessary?"

"Sorry, Francine, but I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"About what we saw in the library tonight."

Francine's expression softened. "What did you see?"

"I saw a shadowy form in the corner of the library."

"That's what I saw, too," Francine admitted. "Amanda, when were you born?"

"What?"

"When is your birthday?"

"October 29th, just two days ago."

Lee had given her a beautiful gold bracelet. She couldn't wear it in front of her mother or the boys without them asking questions, but it was a beautiful present.

"So, you're a Scorpio, too," Francine said thoughtfully. "My birthday is today."

Amanda was surprised. "I didn't know that. You know, I don't think I've ever known anyone who was born on Halloween before. Happy birthday!"

"Thank you," Francine said dryly. "I think it explains something, though."

"What?"

Glancing around to make sure that no one else was listening, Francine lowered her voice and said, "How we can both see ghosts."

Amanda also checked to make sure that no one else was listening. The men were all listening to Mrs. Nicholson, who insisted on regaling them with an account of the most successful fortune telling that she had ever had. They listened with polite disinterest.

"There's something that you need to know about the ghost, Francine."

"What?"

"It's not real."

Francine blinked. "We both saw it."

"I know."

"Listen, Amanda, I don't like to talk about this in front of the others. I don't want them to say that I'm being superstitious. But, I do believe that spirits are real. I have reason to believe that they are."

Amanda was touched that Francine would admit such a thing to her. It couldn't have been easy, and Francine wasn't the type to confide in others much even at the best of times.

"I don't mean that what we saw in the library wasn't real," Amanda clarified. "That was real. I mean that the story about Charlotte that we heard when we first came here isn't real."

"What do you mean?" Francine looked uneasily at Charlotte's portrait again.

"Look at the portrait carefully, Francine. We didn't look carefully enough the other night. What do you notice about Charlotte?"

"Those eyes are unusual."

"Don't look at them. Look at the rest of her. What do you see?"

Francine looked. "She's wearing a white dress. Is that what you're trying to say?"

"What kind of a white dress?"

"It could be a wedding dress. She's not wearing a veil, though. Without that, it's difficult to tell. Amanda, can you just tell me what you want to tell me?" Francine was getting impatient.

"The original story that we heard was that Charlotte lived during the Civil War, right?"

"Riiiight."

"So, does that look like a Civil War dress to you?"

Francine's eyes widened. "No, it's not. The skirt isn't full enough. And she's wearing gigot sleeves! They existed before the Civil War but didn't come back into vogue until the late 1800s and early 1900s. Those frills on the bodice . . . I think this was painted around the turn of the century."

Amanda should have known that Francine would be a fountain of fashion trivia.

"I can't believe I didn't notice before!" Francine said.

"You were probably staring at the eyes and thinking about the ghost story, just like I was that first night. And, when I talked to Mrs. Ransom earlier, she told me that Cynthia had told her that Charlotte lived during the Revolutionary War."

"What?"

"Cynthia has trouble keeping her story straight."

"You think she made the whole thing up?"

"Yes."

Francine looked troubled. "Then, what did we see?"

"I don't know. We saw something. I know that. I just don't know what. All I know is that Charlotte isn't what she's supposed to be."

"Have you read any of her poetry?" A voice behind them startled them both. This time, Francine didn't spill anything when she turned to see who it was.

It was a pleasant-looking older man. He smiled at them.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help but overhear. I love Charlotte's poems. You've read the ones in your rooms?"

"Ode to a Rose?" Amanda asked curiously.

"Ode to a Peony?" Francine asked unenthusiastically.

The old man nodded. "My favorite is Ode to a Heron."

"I sense a theme," Francine said.

"She was a beautiful woman who wrote beautiful poems."

"Excuse me," Amanda said, "but who are you?"

"Pardon me for not introducing myself. I'm Albert Whiting."

"Oh, you work in the kitchen," Amanda said. "That was a nice lunch today."

"Thank you. I just finished laying the fires in your room, and I came down to see if Wendy needed anything."

"Mrs. Nicholson?"

"Yes."

"We're just finishing up here, I think," Amanda said. "We'll probably be going to bed soon."

"I understand," Albert said. "I'll just see if there's anything she'd like me to do first. Good evening, ladies."

He started to walk away when Amanda said, "Wait a moment. Could you tell us what years Charlotte was alive?"

Albert rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Let me see . . . I think she was born during the 1870s and died around 1945."

"I see," Francine said, giving Amanda a knowing look.

"Thank you very much," Amanda said.

"No problem. Good evening, ladies."

"Cynthia really has trouble keeping her story straight," Francine said. Then, she frowned. "Do you think that she faked the ghost somehow?"

"The one we saw tonight?" Amanda asked. "I don't see how. She was sitting with the rest of us when we saw it."

"If she comes sneaking into my room tonight, trying to scare me, she's going to regret it," Francine fumed.

"Are you going to stay in your own room tonight?" Amanda asked.

"Yes," Francine said. "Last night was a bit of a shock, but tonight, I'll be ready for whatever comes, real or fake. If Cynthia comes, she'll get what she deserves. And, if she comes around to scare you, call me. I'll be happy to take care of her for you."

Amanda smiled. "I'll remember that."

"By the way, Amanda, did you borrow anything from my toiletries case?"

"No. Was yours moved too?"

"Somebody moved your toiletries case?"

"It wasn't where I left it earlier. I didn't notice anything missing from it. You weren't looking for anything in it, were you?"

"No," Francine said. "That's strange."

Lee had come into the room and was looking around at everyone. Amanda waved to him and he came over to see the two of them. He had a glass in his hand, and they could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Having a quiet drink somewhere?" Francine asked.

"You could say that," Lee said. "Mind if I have a word with Amanda?"

"Be my guest. Just watch your drink, or you'll be wearing it. I'm going up to bed."

"What did that mean?" Lee asked Amanda.

"Ignore her. Did you learn anything interesting from Romano?"

"Possibly, but I'd like to discuss it with you in private."

Amanda and Lee went upstairs to his room and talked about what Romano said. Amanda told Lee about the fortune telling and her theory about Cynthia making up Charlotte's ghost story.

"What Albert told you about Charlotte seems to confirm it," Lee said. "Why would Cynthia make up a story like that?"

"I think I know," Amanda said. "I think it explains why she's been trying so hard to avoid the topic and why she gets so upset whenever someone mentions it. I think she even searched my room earlier, trying to get that history book back."

"What? Why?"

"Those notes in the dust jacket were her rough draft for the story. She was afraid we'd see it and find out the truth."

"How do you know she searched your room?"

"She moved my toiletries case. I left it on top of my suitcase, and she moved it so that she could check inside. Remember, she wanted to take the book from me when we were talking about it in the dining room. When I didn't give it to her, she came looking for it."

"I don't like the sound of this. I think we'd better have a little talk with Cynthia."

"We can talk to her tomorrow. I think she and her fiance will want some time alone tonight."

"Good point," Lee said, eyeing Amanda.

Noticing his look, she said softly, "I suppose I should go to my room now."

She had told Lee that she wanted to take things slowly and she meant it. He'd been respectful of that, but he made no secret of the fact that he'd welcome a lot more with her. It was now just past midnight by the clock on Lee's night stand, and they were sitting alone in his room. He'd taken off his tie and undone the first buttons of his shirt to relax while they were talking, and he was looking at her with those beautiful eyes that melted her heart. If she didn't leave soon, she might not want to leave at all.

"I'll walk you to your room," he said.

"It's just down the hall," she said teasingly.

"Don't I know it." His voice was deep and sent shivers down Amanda's spine.

"I'm sure I'll be safe." Amanda got up from where she was sitting on the edge of his bed.

Lee got up with her and escorted her out. "Just making sure that the ghosts, witches, and goblins don't get you."

"It's past midnight," Amanda said. "It isn't Halloween anymore."

"I'll still feel better making sure you're safe."

Lee's presence was a welcome warmth in dim, chilly hallway. He was close beside her as she opened the door to her room . . . and stopped dead when she saw what was inside.

"What the-!" Lee said.

They saw the mirror first. Blood red letters read, "GET OUT! GET OUT!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Happy Birthday, Kate Jackson! :D


	15. Seeing Red

**Chapter 15: Seeing Red**

Lee was seeing red. Red as the blood red letters on the mirror in Amanda's room. Before he could stop her, Amanda rushed to the mirror.

"Amanda! Wait!" Lee hastily checked behind the door to the room, but there was no one hiding there. He drew his gun anyway, ready for whatever might spring at them.

"It's lipstick! Lee, it's just lipstick!" Amanda held up the tube with the lipstick inside smashed down because someone had used it to write the words on the mirror. "They completely ruined my lipstick, but it's not-"

"Amanda, stay back!"

Lee had spotted the long shape under the blankets on Amanda's bed. He approached it carefully, gun ready, and yanked back the blankets.

There was no one there. He had very nearly killed Amanda's pillows.

Amanda giggled, nervousness bubbling over in laughter. "Pillows!" she gasped. "Just pillows."

Lee quickly checked under the bed, just to be sure, but no one was there, either. Then, he took a closer look at what was lying on top of the pillows.

"It's not just pillows," Lee said, picking up the picture frame.

It was the framed poem, Ode to a Rose by Charlotte Ransom. Amanda stopped laughing. Neither of them moved for a moment. They were both looking and listening, but they were completely alone in Amanda's room. Finally, Lee snapped.

"That's it!" he said. "You're spending the night with me."

"Lee?"

"Get your things together, you're not sleeping in this room."

"It was probably a practical joke. For Halloween. Maybe Cynthia-"

"It's not funny!"

Lee picked up Amanda's suitcase and put it on the bed.

"Lee, what are you doing?"

He quickly rummaged through it, but didn't see anything that looked like it didn't belong. Then, he grabbed the toiletries case and did the same thing.

"Someone was in here, messing with your room. You said that someone went through your stuff earlier. I'm making sure that there's nothing harmful in here."

There wasn't. All he saw were ordinary toiletries. He handed the bag to Amanda.

"Check it and make sure there's nothing in here that you don't recognize. Then, grab some clothes. I'm taking you to my room tonight."

Lee pulled out his handkerchief and started wiping off the mirror. Amanda was bewildered.

"What are you doing that for? Lee, shouldn't we tell Billy about this?"

"No," Lee said. It surprised him even as he said it.

As the agent in charge of security, it would have been standard procedure for him to inform his superior and do a security check, but that was what bothered him about it.

"If we did a security check, I doubt we'd find anything. We didn't find anything last night, and we started our search right after Francine started screaming about her intruder. Whoever did this could have set it up hours ago, while you were downstairs with the others or in my room, talking to me. The culprit's probably snuggled safe in his bed now, waiting for the big reaction when you discover it. I don't want to give him the satisfaction. Or her."

"So what are you going to do?" Amanda asked.

"Just what I said. I'm going to clean things up like nothing happened. Then, I'm taking you to my room, where you'll be safe. In the morning, I'm going to ask the security guards if they found anyone walking around in the middle of the night."

"Why?"

"Whoever set up this 'joke' did it for a reason. He's expecting a reaction. So, we're not going to give him one. It's possible that he'll eventually get tired of waiting and come here to see what happened. If he does, I'm hoping that our patrols will catch him."

"And if they don't?"

"In the morning, we'll play it cool and see if anyone acts suspiciously, asks you how your night was or something like that. If it was just someone's sick idea of a joke, it will serve them right, and if it's something more . . . at least, you'll be safe with me tonight. We can talk to Billy in the morning, too."

"Billy is in the room next to yours. What if he catches us together?"

"If anything else happens tonight, I'm not going to care who catches us together as long as you're okay. Billy's certainly not going to complain if my being with you saves your life."

"I don't think my life is in danger."

"I don't want to take the chance."

Amanda looked worried, but she said, "Okay."

Before leading Amanda to his room, Lee checked the hallway to make sure that it was empty. If anyone was lurking there, he would have taken out all his frustrations on them, prankster or not. But, no one was.

Once they were back in Lee's room, they found themselves staring at each other awkwardly. Amanda had brought a nightgown with her as well as a change of clothes for the next day.

"I could go change in the bathroom," Amanda said.

"No," Lee said. "I don't think you should leave this room again tonight. I'll turn my back."

"Okay." Amanda was still looking at him shyly, a little hesitant.

Lee had the uncomfortable feeling that his earlier flirting and innuendos had made her wonder about his intentions.

"Listen, Amanda," Lee said, taking her hands in his. "This is for your protection. I want to keep you safe tonight. I'm not going to take advantage of you. We agreed to take things slowly, and I'm not going to push you farther than you're willing to go."

"That's alright," Amanda said, giving him a tiny smile. "I trust you."

"Good. Everything's going to be alright." Lee smiled and brushed a lock of hair off of Amanda's forehead, planting a small kiss on the spot where it had lain. "Go ahead and get ready for bed."

It only took a couple of minutes for Amanda to get undressed and into her nightgown. They were tantalizing minutes, and even though Lee kept his face buried in Cynthia's history book the whole time, he had some interesting images in his head as he listened to the rustling of Amanda's clothes.

Amanda also turned her back while Lee changed into his pajamas. He carefully placed his gun next to the bed. He probably wouldn't need it, but he wanted it within easy reach if it became necessary. Lee stared at Amanda's back while she looked at the history book and wondered if she was thinking about him in the same way he'd been thinking about her.

He was a little disappointed when Amanda suddenly laughed and said, "Look at this, Lee."

She pointed to a spot on a page to show him.

"Oh, wow. No wonder Cynthia wanted this back. We should have read more of this earlier."

"My old college textbooks didn't have notes like that in them."

"You were right about this being her rough draft."

"I wonder how many more notes she has in this book."

"You can find out in the morning," Lee said. "It's late, and we should get to bed."

The 'we' part of that sentence gave him a thrill, but he sternly reminded himself that he was on his best behavior. Her willingness to share his bed tonight was for her protection, and he didn't want to give her any reason to think that he was going to take advantage of her or the situation. To Lee's way of thinking, no man who really loved a woman would. Oh, he had high hopes for Amanda to share his bed more often, but that could wait for a time when she was safe and willing.

It had started to rain, so they decided not to crack open the window, like Amanda usually liked to do. The fire in the fireplace cast a warm glow on the room. As Amanda climbed under the covers, Lee went to the chest at the foot of the bed and started taking out the extra blankets.

"What are you doing?" Amanda asked him.

"Getting out blankets," Lee said. "You're going to sleep under the covers, and I'm going to sleep on top of them tonight."

"Why?" she asked.

"Well, I thought that you might be more comfortable that way," Lee explained awkwardly.

Amanda smiled. "I appreciate it, but I don't want you to be cold or uncomfortable tonight. You can sleep under the covers with me. When I said that I trusted you, I meant it."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

Lee put the extra blankets back and climbed into bed next to Amanda. As soon as he pulled the blankets up, she snuggled up against him. Her feet were cold, but Lee didn't care. He put his arms around her and held her close, gently rubbing her back. For a few moments, the two of them lay quietly side-by-side, listening to the raindrops pelting the window.

"Oh, darn!" Amanda groaned.

"What?" Lee asked, worriedly.

"I was just thinking of how late it is, and I was going to get up early to get a shower!"

Lee groaned too, but it was more the groan of someone hearing a bad joke than any real annoyance.

"I'll set the alarm," Lee said, reaching over to the clock on the bedside table. "We should both get up early anyway to make sure that no one sees you leaving my room."

"You're right. Thank you," Amanda said. She snuggled into his arms again.

"Are you comfy?" Lee asked, giving Amanda one more chance to tell him if she was alright with the sleeping arrangements.

"Mmm-hmm," Amanda said. She was starting to look relaxed and sleepy.

"Are you warm enough?"

"Mmm-hmm." Amanda closed her eyes, nestling her head into the pillow next to Lee's.

"Good. Relax and go to sleep. You're safe here with me."

"I know," she murmured sleepily.

Lee lay awake for awhile even after Amanda dropped off to sleep. With Amanda at his side, he felt wide awake. He was aware of every little sound. Rain was pelting on the window. The wind had picked up again. Amanda shifted in his arms and mumbled something in her sleep.

"Shhh," Lee said softly, stroking her back again to soothe her.

Lee had the feeling that Amanda wasn't as shaken by tonight's scare as he was. If this ugly prank had been aimed at him, he would have worried less. The prank actually hadn't been harmful, but someone had definitely wanted to frighten and intimidate Amanda. Why, he didn't know, but the thought that someone harbored any malevolent intentions toward Amanda was unsettling. The thought that some nasty, disturbed person had been in Amanda's room, had gone through her things, used her lipstick to write threatening messages, that this person could just walk into her room at any time, stand next to her as she slept, reach out to grab her . . .

Lee pulled Amanda a little closer, being careful not to wake her. There wasn't a lot that he was afraid of, but threats to Amanda scared the hell out of him. Most likely, whoever had been in her room wasn't really going to hurt her. He was just trying to scare her. It could still just be someone's stupid idea of a prank. If anyone had actually wanted to harm Amanda, they could have just waited until she was asleep and vulnerable . . .

No! Lee stopped that train of thought before it could go any further. Amanda was here with him, safe in his arms. Nobody else was going to come near her tonight. And if anyone tried, Lee thought grimly with a glance at the gun on his bedside table, he'd turn this stupid fake ghost into a real one.


	16. Night Terrors

**Chapter 16: Night Terrors**

Lee was woken by the sound of loud voices. In his half-dreaming state, he thought they were a woman's screams.

Jolting awake, Lee called, "Amanda!"

"Lee?"

She was still in his arms. She was still alright.

"Lee, what's happening?"

The fire had died down, and in the darkness, he couldn't see Amanda's face clearly, but her voice was sleepy and confused.

"I don't know."

Some of the voices were coming from their radios, resting near his gun on the bedside table. From the sound of it, there was a security sweep in progress and guards were reporting their status. Lee knew he must have been tired not to hear the original alert that spawned this security sweep. He heard other voices coming from outside in the hallway. Lee let go of Amanda, pushed off the covers, and sat up, reaching for his gun and his radio. The digital alarm clock told him that he'd only been asleep for about three hours.

"You stay here!" Lee commanded Amanda as he shrugged his holster over his pajamas.

"But what-"

"Stay here!" he said. It was the only place where he knew she'd be safe until he found out what was going on.

There was chaos in the hallway. Security guards were everywhere. Billy was talking to a couple of them. Others were knocking on doors and waking people up.

One of the guards, Glenn, said to Lee, "Sir, I was just coming to wake you."

"What's happening?"

"Agent Romano was attacked in his room, sir."

"Attacked? Is he alright?"

"He's injured, sir. He says that someone tried to kill him while he was sleeping."

"I want to talk to him."

"Just after the attack, there was a break-in alert in the west wing," Glenn said. "A window in one of the empty rooms. We're checking it out now, sir."

Two alerts! Lee was a little embarrassed that he'd slept through them, even though he had turned down the volume on his radio. He turned the volume back up.

"Good," he said to Glenn. "Let me know immediately when you've found something. The outside teams are also conducting a sweep of the grounds?"

"Yes." Glenn and Lee turned to face Billy. Billy came up to Lee and said, "The guards woke me a couple minutes ago. I've told them to conduct a bed check of everyone in the house. Then, I want everyone down in the drawing room, no exceptions. The security guards will conduct another full sweep of the house and grounds . . ." Billy paused, looking at something behind Lee. Before Lee could turn to look, he continued, "None of us are getting any more sleep tonight."

"Everyone downstairs?" Lee asked. Amanda was still in his room . . .

"Everyone," Billy said firmly. "You and I will speak to Romano first, though. Baudin's with him now."

"What's going on?" Amanda's voice called suddenly.

Lee turned and saw her standing in the bathroom doorway, just a little way down from his room. She must have run quickly to avoid being seen by the security guards, who were just now working their way down to that end of the hall. He smiled until he turned again to face Billy. Billy also had a smile on his face. A dangerously knowing smile. Billy had been facing Lee while Amanda had run behind his back.

Lee cleared his throat. "Someone attacked Romano, Amanda. We're checking everyone's whereabouts now. Then, everyone is going to get together in the drawing room. But first, I'd like you to come with me to talk to Romano. Does he need medical help?" The last question was addressed to Billy.

"No, he only has a minor injury. One of the guards helped bandage it. Baudin and Worth are with him now."

"Good. Amanda, are you coming?"

Amanda said, "May I get my robe first?"

"Certainly," Billy said sweetly.

Fortunately, Amanda had left her robe in her own room. At some point, they'd have to get her clothes and toiletries out of Lee's. Billy was giving Lee an appraising look. Lee tried to act casual and not look him in the eye. When Amanda returned in a light blue bathrobe, they went upstairs to Romano's room.

Romano had been given the Phoebe Room. It was right across the hall from the Sparrow Room where Worth was staying, small, decorated in shades of yellow and brown. Worth and Baudin were sitting there with him. Baudin had claimed the only chair in the room, and Worth was sitting next to Romano on the bed, checking the bandage on his arm.

"It looks good," he said. "Did they give you anything for the pain?"

"Not yet," Romano said. "With the scotch I had earlier, it wouldn't be safe. I'm doing okay."

"Excuse me," Lee said to Worth and Baudin, "but we need to talk to Agent Romano now. We need to hear his report of the incident."

"Go ahead," Baudin said. "I've already heard it."

"It's a little crowded in here, Rich," Billy pointed out.

"Oh, right." Baudin got up.

"Everyone is meeting down in the drawing room," Billy said. "We'll be with you in a few minutes."

"Alright," Baudin said. "Agent Worth?"

Baudin and Worth left together, and Billy immediately took Baudin's chair for himself. For lack of anywhere else to sit, Lee sat on the bed next to Romano, where Worth had been sitting. Amanda, seeing bloodstains on the sheets, decided to stay standing.

"I know you've already told Baudin what happened," Lee said, "but we'd like to hear it, too."

"All I know is that somebody came into my room in the middle of the night and tried to kill me!" Romano said. "I heard the door open and close, but with the lights off, I couldn't see who was there. I called out, but nobody answered. Then, she ran up to the bed and tried to stab me!"

"She? How did you know it was a she?"

"When I heard her running toward me, I reached out and grabbed her! Good thing I did, or I'd be dead now. Believe me, it felt like a woman."

"I believe you," Lee said. "But who was it?"

"I don't know! It was dark. All I know is that she had a knife. She got me across the arm before I wrenched it out of her hand."

"Did you manage to cut her at all?" Lee asked. If the attacker had a wound, it would easily identify her.

"I don't think so, but she kind of cried out and took off running. I must have hurt her arm when I wrenched it around."

"The right or the left?"

"Right arm."

"We'll check everyone for bruises and other injuries," Billy said.

"Is there anything else you can tell us about your attacker?" Lee asked. "Anything you noticed?"

Romano shrugged. "As I said, it was dark."

"You heard her voice," Amanda pointed out. "Could you recognize it?"

"It was just kind of a wordless cry," Romano said. "It could have been anybody."

"Maybe another sound the person made?" Amanda suggested. "Or a smell? Women wear perfume, and we all use different shampoos."

It was a clever suggestion, but still no help.

"I don't remember anything like that," Romano said. "I was startled out of a sound sleep. Then, I was fighting her, not smelling her."

There wasn't much else to say. Romano had shouted for help, bringing Worth from across the hall to his aid, and Worth had called the guards for help. None of them had seen the woman fleeing, but Worth had also been startled out of a sound sleep, and it took him a moment to arrive on the scene. A woman running fast could have made it to the nearest staircase and the second floor fast enough to escape detection.

Then, there was the alarm that went off in the west wing after the attack.

"Do you think the attacker could have fled the building?" Lee asked Billy.

"We'll know when the security team is finished searching the area and counting heads," Billy said. "If anyone's missing, that will pretty much settle it. But, the alarm could be a blind."

"Yeah," Lee said. "Maybe someone set it off on purpose as a distraction."

Billy decided that Romano would be safer away from the others and arranged for him to rest in one of the guards' bedrooms with a couple of guards standing nearby for protection.

Glenn approached Lee as they left Romano's room and reported that everyone else was down in the drawing room and that the sweep had so far not uncovered any intruders from the outside.

"All of the guests and staff have been accounted for, sir. No one appears to have entered or exited the house except for our own men," the guard said.

"What about the break-in alert?" Lee asked.

The guard held out a small device to show Lee. It was one of the magnetic contacts that had been attached to the windows of the house. Moving the contact too far out of place, as it would if someone opened a window wide enough to enter or leave, would trigger the security system.

"This is the contact from the window that triggered the alert," Glenn said. "We found it lying on the floor under the window. The window was still shut and locked."

"How did that happen?" Lee demanded. "They use special adhesives on those that last for years. They don't just fall off."

"It looks like something dissolved the adhesive," Glenn said. "The back hardly feels sticky anymore."

"Can you tell what they used?"

"We'd need the lab for that."

"Well, keep it somewhere safe until we can have it analyzed," Lee said. "Take it to the control room and tell the guards there to keep everyone away from it."

"Yes, sir."

"We'll let the sweeps continue. I doubt you'll find anything more than you found on the other sweeps," Lee said, "but be thorough anyway. Did any of the patrols catch anyone out of bed at any time during the night? Anyone who wasn't where they were supposed to be?"

"Only Cynthia Ransom. She was heading to the west wing of the house shortly after midnight, and as you ordered, we didn't stop her."

"As you ordered?" Billy asked with raised eyebrows. The knowing smirk was back again.

"I simply reminded them that this is Cynthia's house, and she has a right to be anywhere she wishes."

"She was in the Senator's room when we knocked on his door," the guard said, his face carefully blank. "She went down to the drawing room with him a few minutes ago."

Lee allowed himself a pang of sympathy for the Senator and his fiance.

"I don't think that's significant," Lee said. "They alibi each other, and we're looking for someone without an alibi, a woman who was out of bed by herself shortly before or after Romano was attacked."

"Our patrols didn't catch anyone out of bed at that time. Kirby and Jensen were in the west wing then, Chen and Duncan were down on the first floor. Brown and Ramos were coming up the main staircase about that time. They probably just missed her."

"So she was either lucky or she kept a good eye on the patrols to figure out that the coast was clear," Billy said.

"When we talk to everyone, they'll all just say that they were in bed at the time of the attack," Lee said. "Unless there are noticeable marks on someone's arm from fighting with Romano, we wouldn't have anything to prove which of the women is the attacker."

"Sir," Amanda said, "where the attacker get the knife?"

Billy looked at the guard, who said, "It was a steak knife, sir. It probably came from the kitchen or dining room. The handle was wrapped in a cloth napkin from the dining room."

"I'll put in a call to the Agency and get a couple of lab techs in," Billy said. "They may not find anything on the knife, but it's worth a try, and we should have the window contact analyzed. The police couldn't get here any faster, and because security agencies are involved, this is clearly a security matter. Where are you keeping the weapon?"

"We took it to the control room, sir."

"Good. Make sure no one touches it."

"Yes, sir."

"So, really, we only have two suspects," Amanda said thoughtfully. "It must either be Georgia Eastman or Victoria Sanders."

"Why do you say that?" Billy asked.

"Well, we know that the attacker is a woman, and if this person is also the traitor, someone who was afraid that Romano would realize something that would give her away, it's got to be one of those two," Amanda said.

"That makes sense," Billy said, "but there may be someone else here with a motive to attack Romano. What about Ms. Sobol?"

"Professional jealousy because she wasn't chosen for the original mission and he was? Maybe something more personal because they were once in a relationship?" Lee asked. "That's kind of reaching, isn't it Billy? Annette Sobol was brought in to investigate the possibility of a traitor. If she were out to get Romano, she could do it just by uncovering some piece of evidence that points to him."

"Unlikely, but we have to consider every possibility," Billy said. "Check Annette's arms for injuries. While you're at it, check Cynthia's arms along with the others. Who's to say that she didn't slip away from her fiance for a few minutes?"

"Or that he wouldn't cover for her if she did," Lee pointed out. "Ordinarily, I wouldn't think it of him, but love can make a man do some surprising things."

That was a daring thing to say, considering what Billy had seen earlier, but other than a slight smile and a twinkle in his eye, Billy let the comment pass so they could get on with business.

"Check Mrs. Ransom and Mrs. Nicholson, too," Billy said. "They aren't likely suspects either, but we might as well be thorough. You might as well check Francine, too, just for the sake of completeness and so the others don't complain about her being left out. By the way, may I see your arms, Amanda?"

Amanda dutifully rolled up her sleeves and demonstrated that her arms were uninjured and unmarked.

"That's fine," Billy said. "Of course, I don't really suspect you. It's just a formality."

"I understand, sir."

Billy didn't add that Amanda also apparently had an alibi, but Lee didn't like the knowing looks Billy kept giving him.

"Where is Francine now?" Lee asked. "Did she go downstairs with the others?"

"Yes, I spoke to her just before you came out of your room. She's keeping an eye on everyone in the drawing room."

"Then I guess we'd better get down there," Lee said.


	17. Questions and Answers

**Chapter 17: Questions and Answers**

Francine was keeping things in order downstairs. Mrs. Nicholson had persuaded her to let her make coffee for everyone. Francine had allowed her to do so under the condition that a guard watch her do it. By the time that Billy, Lee, and Amanda arrived downstairs, everyone was drinking coffee, including Francine. Somehow, she managed to look authoritative even in a light pink robe and nightgown.

Worth, still in his robe and pajamas, was trying to talk to her as they drank their coffee. "It's crazy," he was saying. "One strange Halloween night, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Francine said. She wasn't paying much attention because she was trying to keep an eye on the others in the room.

"Did anything else strange happen last night?" Worth asked. "Besides the attack on Romano, I mean?"

"I can't comment on that right now," Francine said. "The situation is still under investigation. Oh, Billy!" Worth glanced in their direction and walked away from Francine.

Georgia turned to see them come in and jumped up from her place on the sofa. In her haste to talk to them, she tripped, spilling coffee on Victoria and Annette, who were sitting on the sofa with her. Victoria cried out when the hot coffee hit her and also jumped up, bumping straight into Georgia, knocking her down. Georgia's coffee cup shattered as it hit the floor, and she fell hard on her left arm.

Amanda immediately rushed forward to help the two women. Annette also got up, but instead of offering help, she just took off her purple robe, which was now damp with coffee. Underneath it, she was wearing a matching purple nightgown with a pink bow at the neckline, and she glared at everyone to make it clear that they'd better not comment on it.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Victoria said to Georgia. "I'm so clumsy!" Those were the most words Lee had heard her say all at once.

She also removed her coffee-stained robe. Fortunately, she wore modest pajamas underneath it, cozy flannel with a black, green, red plaid pattern, that Lee didn't think was at all becoming. He wouldn't call himself an expert on women's fashions, but he knew what he liked, and he didn't like the look of that.

"It was my fault," Georgia said as Amanda helped her to her feet. "I've just been so worried. Is Michael alright? They said he'd been attacked but is he-?"

"He's going to be fine," Amanda said soothingly. "He's just resting upstairs."

"Oh, thank God!" Georgia closed her eyes in relief.

"This is going to sound a little strange," Amanda said, "but would you mind showing me your arms?"

"My arms?"

"Just roll up your sleeves."

Georgia did so. There was a red mark near her left elbow, where she'd fallen on her arm, but that was all. It was probably going to turn black and blue, but the tender spot was still fresh.

"May I see yours?" Amanda asked Victoria.

Victoria gave her a puzzled look but also rolled up her sleeves. Her right arm was red, but then she'd just had hot coffee splashed on it. Her sleeve was warm and damp. Her other arm was fine.

"Annette?" Amanda asked.

"What is this for?" she asked, but she rolled up her sleeves anyway.

Her arms were perfectly fine.

"We just had to check something," Amanda said.

Billy explained the situation to Francine and had her display her arms to prove that they were unmarked. Then, he had Mrs. Ransom and Mrs. Nicholson do the same. The only two people with marks on their arms were Victoria and Georgia, and they both could have gotten them right then, in front of everyone.

"It's funny how that accident just happened right now," Francine whispered. "You think that one of them might have caused it on purpose, just to cover up some existing marks?"

"It's possible," Billy said. "They were sitting right next to each other. Georgia could have spilled her coffee on purpose to provoke the accident, or Victoria could have stuck out her foot and tripped her. It happened pretty fast, and I wasn't looking right at them."

"I wasn't either," Lee said, "but one of them could have done it on purpose."

"Victoria's marks are the most suspicious," Amanda said.

"I doubt it was Victoria," Francine said. "She's a mouse! She hardly ever even talks."

"I think it was her," Amanda said. "It's always the quiet ones, the ones you least suspect."

"But you already suspect her," Francine pointed out.

Billy said, "I don't think we're getting anywhere with this. In fact, I think it's time to end this situation and take all of these people back to Washington for questioning."

"End the meeting?" Lee asked. "This isn't going to do wonders for our relationship with MI6, and they're going to resent it if we try to interrogate them."

"It doesn't matter," Billy said. "There's an attempted murderer among our group, and we're not giving that person a chance to strike again. Georgia and Victoria are the prime suspects right now. We're going to keep an especially close watch on them. From now on, nobody goes anywhere without a security escort, and those two will have two guards stationed with them at all times. I'm going to call the Agency and get a couple of vans up here to transport these people back to headquarters."

"Billy, do you mind if I talk to some of them now?" Lee said. "There are some things I'd like to clear up before we leave here."

"You may as well," Billy said. "It'll be a few hours before we can leave anyway."

"Alright. The first people I want to talk to are Cynthia Ransom and the Senator."

"Why them?" Billy asked. "I thought you were going to question Georgia and Victoria."

"I will," Lee said, "but there's something I want to ask Cynthia first. She was up and about last night. She might have seen something important."

"Okay," Billy said. "I'm going to go make the call. Francine, hold the fort here."

"Amanda?" Lee said. "Let's go get dressed and get the book from my room. I think we might want it while talking to Cynthia."

"Are you going to confront Cynthia about the ghost story?" Francine asked. "I'd love to see that."

"Sorry, Francine," Lee said. "You've got to manage things here."

"Besides," Amanda pointed out, "if it turns out that she's the one who scared you our first night here, she might not want to talk in front of you."

"Startled," Francine said. "I was startled, not scared."

"Right," Lee said.

"Don't worry," Amanda said. "If she admits to that, I'll be sure to tell her off for you."

"Just tell me later, and I'll do the telling off," Francine said.

Getting dressed didn't take long. Amanda skipped her shower and just put on the outfit she'd brought to Lee's room. While she got dressed in the bathroom, Lee dressed in his room and got the book out of his desk. He hadn't noticed the night before, possibly because his mind had really been on Amanda changing clothes behind his back, but some of the papers in the desk had been moved around. He frowned. Had Amanda done that? He didn't think so. He'd hardly taken his eyes off of her when she'd been sitting there.

It was unsettling. He and Amanda had left the most sensitive information with the guards in the room with the security system controls, but he had kept the schedule of the security patrols in his desk. If someone had been looking through them earlier in the evening, that would explain how the mysterious attacker could keep one step ahead of the guards. Fortunately, whoever it was still didn't know how the security system worked. But, that hadn't stopped whoever it was from setting off one of the alarms.

The beep of the alarm clock startled Lee out of his thoughts. If he and Amanda had been allowed to sleep, they would have been waking up right now. Cursing under his breath, he turned off the alarm and went to meet Amanda.

None of the others had been allowed to return to their rooms to get dressed yet, so they spoke with Senator Kahler and Cynthia while they were still in their pajamas. When you're in your pajamas and facing a man in a suit and a woman in a nice dress and heels, you're at a distinct disadvantage. Cynthia adjusted the neck of her robe self-consciously. Senator Kahler sat up straight and looked Lee right in the eye, evidently hoping that the dignity of his posture would make up for the indignity of his dress.

Lee and Amanda agreed that Amanda should start the questioning, so Amanda handed the history book back to Cynthia, saying, "I wanted to be sure to return this. I really enjoyed reading it. Especially, the parts written on the dust jacket. And the notes in the chapter on the American Revolution. And that little sketch you did in the section on the Civil War. I think the ghost would be proud that her descendent was so creative."

Cynthia almost went white as a ghost herself.

"What is she talking about?" Senator Kahler asked.

Amanda flipped to the section on the Civil War. One of the battle dates was circled, and in the margins, someone had written, "Josiah died tragically in this battle, and his dear wife Charlotte never recovered from her grief. Her spirit still wanders the grounds, waiting for her husband to come home."

Underneath it, there was a little sketch of a woman in a dress like something from Gone With the Wind. It was hard to tell if she was supposed to be a ghost or not because it was just done with a black ball-point pen, but it wasn't bad, considering how tiny it was.

"Oh," Cynthia said meekly.

"Oh," said Amanda.

"Cynthia?" the Senator asked.

"I was going to tell you last night," Cynthia said, "before we got busy with other things . . ." She blushed.

"Tell me now," the Senator said.

"I made up the ghost story. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lied about it. Since the hotel wasn't a success, and we'd decided to turn the house into a conference center instead, I'd hoped that it would be forgotten. I only invented it to drum up business for the hotel! So many old houses, at least the ones that get turned into successful hotels, have a colorful history associated with them. Someone famous lived there or slept there or something, or they're near a place where something famous happened, but there wasn't anything particularly interesting about our house. No famous battles took place nearby or anything! So, I made up the ghost story to give the place some romance."

"But the real Charlotte was famous, wasn't she?" Amanda asked. "Albert told us one evening that she wrote poetry. There are copies of her poems in all of our rooms."

"She wasn't that well-known. She only wrote one book of poems," Cynthia said, "and they were all about flowers or birds. Who would come to a place just for bird poems?"

"Albert apparently," Amanda said.

"But no one else," Cynthia said sadly.

The Senator stared at her. "So that's why you got so upset when people were talking about the ghost."

Cynthia nodded. "I realized after I sent out the pamphlets with the story that it was stupid and that someday someone would realize the truth, but it was too late to take it back. I'm sorry, Ben."

The Senator laughed. "Now, I understand! You poor thing, you could have told me earlier. All this time, I thought you were seriously afraid of ghosts and spirits. Mrs. King is right, it is pretty creative."

"Albert told us that the real Charlotte died in the 1940s," Amanda said.

"That's right," said Cynthia. "She was my great-grandmother. She died a couple of years before my parents were married. I don't think my mother even met her. Her husband's name was Joseph, like my father, but I changed it to Josiah because it had more of an old-fashioned sound to it."

"I also noticed that you were originally going to set the story during the Revolutionary War but changed it to the Civil War."

Cynthia gave them all an embarrassed smile. "While I was planning this, I read books about ghost stories in Virginia, especially ones associated with old houses, and most of them centered around the Civil War. The Civil War was more bloody and more recent than the Revolutionary War, and there is the tragic element of countrymen fighting countrymen. It just invites more ghost stories. It's more what people would expect. I was trying to cater to my clientele."

The Senator laughed harder and hugged Cynthia. "Oh, that's incredible! You really should have written a book about this. The great tragic love of Charlotte Ransom!"

"I think I've had enough of tragedies for now. I'm thinking about happy endings." Cynthia squeezed his hand.

"It could still make a great story," the Senator said. "Especially if the heroine really is a spy. Your family does have a literary tradition."

"I did have some other ideas for Charlotte's story," Cynthia admitted.

"I know," Amanda said, tapping a page in the history book. "I like the part here where you-"

Lee cleared his throat.

"Right," Amanda said.

"Making up fake ghost stories is one thing," Lee said sternly, "but running around in the middle of the night pretending to be one and scaring people is something else."

"What do you mean?" Cynthia asked.

"You were the one in Francine's room the other night weren't you?"

"No! Why would I try to scare one of my guests?"

"Your aunt says that she's seen Charlotte's ghost wandering the halls," Lee reminded her. "That was before we even arrived. You've been playing ghost to keep up the legend that you made up, haven't you?"

"Not on purpose," Cynthia said awkwardly.

The Senator squeezed her shoulders and said, "Cynthia's aunt and her mother are both very traditional when it comes to love and marriage. Cynthia and I . . . well, whenever I'm down here, the two of us have spent the night together. We just try to do it on the sly so her family won't object. Her aunt has seen us sneaking around in the night. I realized that the other night when she mentioned seeing ghosts dancing. That was something Cynthia and I did late one night."

Cynthia smiled at the memory.

"So how do you explain what happened to Francine?"

"I can't!" Cynthia said. "Why would I want to scare people away after I worked so hard to get people to come here?"

Lee couldn't think of a good response to that. Instead, he asked, "What about the old woman who gave Amanda the history book?"

"I don't know anything about that, either. I thought we'd decided that it was just a dream. I certainly wouldn't have given her the book or asked anyone else to do it for me. I was trying to keep people from finding out the truth behind the ghost, remember?"

Lee studied Cynthia's face, and as far as he could tell, she wasn't lying.

"Is there anything else you need to know, or can we go get dressed now?" the Senator asked.

"Just one more thing," Lee said. "Last night, Cynthia, you walked from your room in the east wing of the house to your fiance's room in the west wing. What time was that?"

"I'm not sure exactly. I think it was about twelve-thirty or a little after."

That was after he and Amanda had found the prank in her room and decided that she should spend the night with him.

"Did you see anyone on your way?"

"A couple of the guards, but they didn't stop me."

"Anyone else?"

"Just Agent Worth."

"Agent Worth?"

"He was kind of hovering around the stairway from the second floor to the third, dressed like he hadn't been to bed yet. He took one look at me and went up to the third floor. I don't know what he was doing, but I didn't want to ask."

"Thank you," Lee said. "You can go upstairs to get dressed now, but guards will escort you. Nobody is allowed to go anywhere alone for now. Senator, you should begin packing your bags. We're calling an end to the meeting here and taking everyone back to D.C."

Cynthia looked devastated. "The conference center is a failure, then."

Lee took pity on her. "Actually, I'd say that the conference is a failure, not the conference center. It's not your fault that there's a traitor and possibly a murderer among us. But, now that we know that, it would be safer to interrogate the suspects under higher security."

"There are going to be difficulties with MI6 involved," the Senator said. "I should contact the Information Security Council and the British Embassy."

"Go ahead," Lee said. "Mr. Melrose is already calling the Agency. I have to talk to some of the other guests before we leave."

"Is it alright for us to make breakfast?" Cynthia asked. "Or will you be leaving before then?"

"No," Lee said. "We won't leave right away, and we'd all welcome something to eat."

"I'll talk to my aunt and Albert, then," Cynthia said. "We'll let you know when it's ready."

Amanda and Lee escorted the two of them back to the drawing room and assigned guards to accompany them and Cynthia's family, one for each person.

As they sent them on their way, Lee whispered to Amanda, "I want to have a word with Worth alone. I think I know what he was doing last night, and I want to discuss it with him in private."

"You don't think he was the one who set off the alarm and attacked Romano, do you?" Amanda asked. "Romano thinks it was a woman, and it happened hours later."

"No, I don't think that was Worth."

"Then, what-?"

"I'd rather not say yet," Lee said. "I'd just like to talk to him myself."

"Okay," Amanda said. "Lee, do you mind if I go to my room and start packing?"

"Go ahead," Lee said, "but come find me when you're finished."

"Alright. I'll go get started."

Francine was absent from the drawing room, but Billy was there, fully dressed, discussing the situation with the others, including Worth.

"I sent Francine upstairs to get dressed," Billy said. "We should all begin packing soon."

"I suppose that she'll be happy to not have to sleep in her haunted room tonight," Worth said, attempting a joke that no one found funny.

"When can the rest of us get dressed and begin packing?" Gordon asked.

"Have you finished talking to Cynthia Ransom?" Billy asked Lee.

"Yes, but she wasn't able to tell us much that was helpful." Lee wanted to wait until he could speak to Billy privately to tell him the real story behind the ghost.

"Is there anyone else you'd like to talk to before they go upstairs to get dressed and start packing?"

"They can all go upstairs, under guard," Lee said. "I'll accompany Agent Worth myself. There are a couple of things I need to do on the third floor."

Worth gave Lee a calculating look. "I didn't want to say anything before, but have you considered the possibility that Romano faked the attack on himself?"

"What makes you say that?" Lee asked.

Worth said, "I didn't see anyone run away from his room."

"They could have done that before you left your room," Baudin pointed out. "You said that you were asleep when you heard him scream, and it took you a moment to get out of bed."

"Well, there is something else," Worth said, "but you'd have to ask Georgia about it."

"Ask me what?" Georgia said, coming over. Having heard her name, she had to find out what they were talking about.

"I didn't want to ask before," Worth said, "but Romano told me that he was with you the night before the mission. Was he?"

Baudin looked surprised. "You've been seeing each other?"

"Yes," Georgia said. She hugged herself tightly, bracing herself for the lecture she knew was coming.

"I don't need to tell you that romances between personnel in the same department are unprofessional," Baudin said. "I can't say that I blame you for your feelings, but before an important mission-"

"That was why I wanted to see him that night," Georgia said. "I knew the mission was dangerous, and I wanted to spend some time with him . . . . just in case."

"But did you really spend time with him, or did he just tell you to say that because he was really somewhere else?" Worth challenged her. "Maybe giving information to the enemy?"

"No! He was with me. If you don't believe me, ask him where he got that medal that he's wearing around his neck. I gave it to him that night."

"You gave him the medallion?" Lee asked.

"To help keep him safe," Georgia said. "St. Michael the Archangel is a protector. He leads the forces of heaven against the forces of evil. I just wanted him to protect my Michael."

"You're Catholic," Billy commented.

"Actually, no," Georgia said, "but I know that Michael is and so was his partner. I thought they might both appreciate it. Chris is the one who gave me the idea."

"Chris wasn't Catholic," Gordon said, his eyes narrowed.

"But, he had a medal, too," Georgia said. "I saw it one day and asked him what it was. It was a St. Christopher medal."

"He got that awhile ago," Worth said. "He said that he got it because of all the traveling he did. He had kind of a narrow escape in a traffic accident and thought he could use some extra protection. St. Christopher is the patron saint of travelers."

"That's what he told me," Georgia said, "so I decided to get a protective medal for Michael, too."

"So you really were with Michael the night before the mission?" Baudin asked.

"Yes. In my hotel room."

"And he talked to you about the details of the mission?"

"I knew most of them already, but we did discuss it a little more."

"You and I will have to discuss this more later, with Michael. A romantic liaison is a mild breach of professional ethics, but discussing a mission and its details outside of a secure location is more serious," Baudin said.

"That could be the source of the leak," Gordon suggested.

"I don't think so," Billy said. "At least, not if you're talking about someone placing a bug in Georgia's room. The smugglers would have to have known about her connection to Agent Romano much earlier than that to have arranged to bug her room, and if they already knew that Romano was a plant, they probably wouldn't have needed to place a bug at all. I doubt what Romano and Georgia said to each other that night would have made a difference."

Baudin said to Georgia, "You may go and pack your bags now. We'll talk later."

Lee turned to Worth and said, "Shall we go?"

Their walk upstairs was silent, but when they reached his room, Worth said, "You think that I said all of that about Romano and Georgia to shift blame off of myself, don't you?"

"No," Lee said. "I think you're guilty of something, but not of being the leak."

"What is it you think I'm guilty of?" Worth asked.

"You're a cad."

"I'm what?" Worth laughed.

"You're a playboy type, but you decided to hedge your bets last night, didn't you? Not very subtle, making that reference to Francine's haunted room back there. But, I started suspecting you when you tried to pump Francine for information about other strange things happening last night."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You've been flirting with Francine ever since we got here. I can't blame you there. You've got pretty good taste. But, she hasn't been returning your affections, has she? She's been pretty wrapped up with doing her job here, and when she hasn't been doing that, she's been thinking about the ghost story and trying to figure out who scared her our first night here. You've been trying hard to get her attention, but other than a friendly chat at meals, she hasn't spared a lot of attention for you."

"What are you getting at?"

"You took part in the fortune telling to get Francine's attention, and then you decided to play on Francine's superstitious side to get her to come to your room last night. Amanda told me that you made a point of inviting Francine to come to you if she needed anything, and then you set up her room to spook her, writing threatening messages on her mirror with her lipstick. It was stupid, but men have done stupider things to get attention from women. Except that you did something especially stupid."

Worth just looked at Lee warily, not saying anything.

"You got the wrong room," Lee said.

To his credit, Worth controlled his facial features, but Lee was watching for the telltale widening of the eyes and was rewarded with this brief flicker of surprise.

"You got Amanda's room by mistake." Lee lowered his voice to a growl.

A flicker of worry came into Worth's eyes now. It was bad enough, playing a trick on the wrong woman, but now he was facing that woman's irate male partner.

"If someone did something to Amanda's room, what makes you think it was me?" Worth asked.

"You were seen, waiting and watching the room," Lee said. "You got impatient, didn't you? You knew that Francine had gone to her room, but then nothing happened. You wanted to make sure that she came running to you, so you decided to wait conveniently close to her room. But, she didn't do anything, and you had to leave because Cynthia happened to pass by and see you."

Worth didn't try to deny it any more. "I thought Francine said she was in the room at the end of the second floor hall, the Rose Room?"

"She was in the room next to the Rose Room, not quite the end of the hall," Lee clarified.

"I almost picked that room," Worth said ruefully. "Those little signs on the doors are hard to read at night."

Lee was stern. "You owe both Amanda and Francine an apology."

"Does Francine know about this?" Worth asked.

"Not yet, but she will," Lee said. "Francine's a good woman and a good agent, and she deserves a lot better than to be manipulated with juvenile tricks."

To his credit, Worth did look ashamed of himself. "It was a stupid thing to do," he admitted. "As you said, all I really wanted was to get her attention. I knew that we wouldn't be staying here long, so I tried to speed things up. The only thing she seemed interested in besides work was the supernatural, so I tried to play to that."

"But you knew that she was upset about someone coming into her room before. So you thought scaring her more would give you the chance to play the hero?"

"Something like that," Worth said glumly. "On Halloween night, it seemed kind of romantic. In the cold light of morning, it just seems pathetic."

"You're right, it is," Lee said. "A real hero looks after women. He wouldn't set up a situation to frighten a woman just so he could take advantage of her. What were you going to do to Francine if you'd gotten her to come to your room last night?"

Worth straightened up. "I wasn't going to force myself on her, if that's what you're suggesting."

"Just place more pressure on her to do what you wanted?" Lee countered.

Worth's face colored, but there wasn't much he could say to that. He probably hadn't thought of it in those terms, but that's what it amounted to, and both he and Lee knew it.

"You should be grateful that it didn't come to that. Francine is good at hand-to-hand combat, and she gets nasty when she's offended. If she'd realized what you were trying to do, it wouldn't have been romantic."

Worth said, "I'll apologize to them both later."

"You'd better," Lee said.

"I promise, nothing like this will happen again."

"It better not."

There wasn't anything else left to say, so Lee left Worth to his guilt and his packing and stationed a guard outside his door to watch him. He had other things to tend to.


	18. The Real Traitor

**Chapter 18: The Real Traitor**

It didn't take Amanda long to pack her things, and she hadn't expected it to. She mostly wanted a chance to think by herself. Georgia Eastman and Victoria Sanders, the two prime suspects. Of the two, Amanda most suspected Victoria. Georgia was in love with Romano. Amanda was convinced of that, and she didn't think that Georgia would attack him, even if she had been the leak, which Amanda was convinced that she wasn't. The leak would have to have been someone who didn't care whether the men involved in the mission were killed or not, and Georgia did care about Romano. It didn't seem likely that she would take that kind of chance with his life.

Then again, Victoria had been in love with Chris Bennett. At least, everyone said she was, and she got upset whenever anyone talked about him. Why would she endanger his life? Victoria was quiet and shy, but that just made her motives harder to understand. Maybe her suspicions were way off base, but Amanda had to satisfy herself by talking to Victoria.

Amanda left her room and went across the hall to Victoria's. There were guards standing outside of her room, as there were outside of Georgia's, but they let Amanda through to talk to her.

"Mrs. King?" Victoria was surprised to see her. It was the first time she'd ever called her by name. Or anything, actually.

"I just came in to help you pack," Amanda said. "How is your arm?"

"My arm?"

Victoria stopped folding the blouse she had been about to put in her suitcase and looked at her arm. She had put on a long-sleeved blouse, so Amanda couldn't see what her arm looked like now.

"You know, because of the hot coffee that got spilled earlier," Amanda said. "I thought if your arm was still hurting, you might need some help packing."

"It's fine," Victoria said.

"That's good."

So far, Victoria was confining herself to two-word sentences, but that was better than nothing. Amanda cast her eyes around, looking for new topics of conversation.

Victoria had laid her clothes out on the bed so that she could fold them neatly before putting them in her suitcase. There were dresses, skirts, two long nightgowns, etc. Her toiletries were similarly laid out, ready for packing: hair brush, comb, small mirror, face powder, a pale pink lipstick, and small bottles of shampoo, conditioner, hand lotion, and nail polish remover. Her packing was going to take awhile.

"I never did get a chance to tell you how sorry I am about Chris," Amanda said.

Victoria gave her a stricken look. "Chris?"

"Yes," Amanda said. She knew it was a painful topic for Victoria, but she had to say something to draw her out of her shell. Besides, she really was sorry for what happened to Chris Bennett. "I'm sorry for your loss. Agent Worth told us that you were close to him."

"We were going to be married," Victoria said. She began fingering something at her neck. That was a familiar gesture.

"Are you wearing Chris's necklace?" Amanda asked.

Victoria nodded silently and pulled it out from under her blouse so that Amanda could see it. It was the St. Christopher's medal that both Georgia and Worth had mentioned. It was a similar size and shape to Romano's medal, but it was a dull silver instead of the gleaming gold of Romano's medal. Romano's medal was flashy by comparison, but this one would blend in more with its surroundings, almost like Victoria with her understated appearance. A picture was forming in Amanda's head.

"Did you give Chris this necklace?" Amanda asked.

Victoria shook her head.

"I understand that he got it after he was almost in an accident," Amanda prompted.

Victoria nodded. "He bought it himself."

"About how long ago was that?"

Victoria shrugged.

"Where you there when it happened?"

Victoria shook her head. Amanda decided that yes and no questions weren't going to work with Victoria.

"What was Chris like?"

"I loved him." Victoria put the medal back underneath her blouse and turned back to her packing.

"I'm sure he had many wonderful qualities," Amanda said.

Victoria didn't say anything.

"Loyal, patriotic . . ." Amanda trailed off.

Victoria wasn't reacting. She was methodically folding clothes.

"Worth seems to think highly of him. He says that Chris provided for your future."

Victoria's face twisted. She didn't look up from her folding, but she shook with the effort of controlling herself.

It felt cruel, but Amanda decided to press a little harder. "Romano liked him, too. I understand that-"

Victoria angrily snapped, "I don't want to talk about it!"

It was the strongest emotion Amanda had seen from her since she had to leave the table at dinner their first night in this house.

"I'm sorry, I know that talking about Chris must be painful. I suppose you were with him the night before the mission," Amanda said thoughtfully.

Victoria shook her head.

"He wasn't with you then?"

She shook her head again. A tear rolled down her cheek.

The picture in Amanda's head was becoming stronger, more vivid. More disturbing. But, she could still be wrong . . .

"I know that an insurance policy isn't much comfort when you've lost someone you love," Amanda said. "But, it was still smart for Chris to-"

"He didn't!" Victoria snapped, still compulsively folding clothes.

"He didn't leave you anything? Worth said-"

"Worth doesn't know!"

"Know what?"

"Anything!"

"He and Romano-"

"I don't want to talk about him!"

Victoria refused to look at Amanda when she spoke. Her hands were shaking, and the clothes were wrinkled as she jammed them into her suitcase.

"You're upset," Amanda said. "Sometimes, it helps to talk-"

"I said I don't want to talk about it! Get out!"

Victoria picked up a nightgown and started folding it. It was a long, white nightgown. Amanda's eyes widened.

"What?" Victoria asked, noticing Amanda's look.

"Nothing," Amanda said. "I'll leave you to your packing."

Hastily, she left Victoria's room. She didn't want to talk to her anymore. She wanted to talk to Lee.

"Keep a close eye on her," Amanda said to the guards at Victoria's door.

She paused to think for a moment, trying to decide if she was overreacting. Having a white nightgown wasn't a crime. There were other explanations for what happened, but . . . Amanda looked toward Francine's room. And read the name on the door. No, she wasn't wrong. The pieces were coming together. She needed Lee immediately.

She removed her radio from her belt and was about to use it to call Lee when she saw him at the other end of the hallway, coming down from the third floor. She hurried over to him.

"Lee! Lee, it's Victoria!" Amanda grabbed his arms to get his attention.

"What?"

"The attacker. It was Victoria."

"How do you know?" Lee's arms were on hers now, holding her steady. She was trembling with the enormity of what she'd realized.

Their radios crackled to life, and Glenn, one of the security guards, announced that Cynthia and her staff were done preparing breakfast.

Lee got on his radio and sent a general message to all the guards who were watching their guests. "You may escort your guest to the dining room for breakfast, but once you're in the dining room, under no circumstances are you to let them leave. Amanda and I will be there shortly." Then, he pulled Amanda over to his room so they could talk privately.

"What makes you think Victoria attacked Romano?" he asked.

"I talked to her, and she didn't say very much. Hardly anything, actually. She was trying not to-"

"Amanda?" Lee said impatiently.

"Sorry. It's about Chris Bennett. His death. Victoria blames Romano, and she's been after him since she got here."

"What?"

"She tried to get him the first night that we got here, but she got the room wrong. She ended up in Francine's instead. She was the ghost Francine saw. She's got a white nightgown-"

"Hold it, Amanda. Having a white nightgown isn't-"

"It isn't proof, I know, but she's wearing the St. Christopher's medallion. Lee, I think that's the key. The reason no one could find the traitor is-"

Their radios beeped and buzzed.

"There's a break-in alert," Lee said. "It's Victoria's room. Come on!"

"Lee!"

Lee didn't stop to listen. He rushed out into the hallway. The guards around Victoria and Georgia's rooms were gone, and another guard was running from the direction of the stairs to the third floor, Agent Worth at his heels.

"He just got the alert," Worth said breathlessly. "We came as fast as we could."

"It's Victoria's room," Lee said shortly. "Come on."

"Lee!" Amanda said.

They ran down to Victoria's room only to find the other guards coming out of it.

"False alarm," one of them said. "There's no one in here. No one broke in. One of the magnetic contacts came off the window and set off the alarm."

"Again?" Lee asked. "What is going on here?"

"Lee, she did it on purpose," Amanda said, coming up behind him. "It's a distraction."

Lee looked around. "Where is Victoria?"

The guards also looked around.

One of them said, "We told the women to stay in the hallway while we checked this out."

Lee started toward the third floor staircase. "We'd better check Romano."

Worth said, "We just came from that way! She didn't go upstairs."

"Lee, where's Georgia?" Amanda cried.

The door to Georgia's room was closed. Lee grabbed the knob and tried to turn it. It was locked.

"Lee, can you pick it? We've got to get inside," Amanda said.

"No time," Lee said. "Worth, help me break the lock. It's old, I think it will give."

Both men threw all their weight against it, and Amanda heard a loud snap.

They burst into the room, and found Victoria, holding Georgia down on the bed, her hands around her throat. Georgia was still alive but losing the struggle.

"Victoria, stop!" Worth shouted. She didn't even seem to hear him.

Lee drew his gun, but Worth said, "Don't shoot!"

Worth threw himself at Victoria, brought his arms up underneath hers, and broke her grip on Georgia. Victoria screamed like a wild thing, but Worth caught her in a bear hug and wouldn't let go. Georgia sat up, coughing.

"Let me go! She killed Chris!"

"No!" Worth said.

Victoria was sobbing now, emotions overflowing like a bucket with too much water. "Let me get at her!"

"No!"

"Victoria," Amanda said. "Victoria, listen to me. She didn't do it. Romano didn't do it. I think you know that."

"No!" This time, it was Victoria who said it.

"You do," Amanda said. "It wasn't their fault. You might have thought it was at first, but it wasn't."

"They were together that night! They did it! They both did it!" Victoria, who could hardly talk before, now couldn't seem to speak fast enough. "They told the smugglers everything! They were lying in wait for Chris! She gave him that necklace! I heard what she said downstairs! She gave him the necklace so the smugglers would know not to kill him! They killed Chris, but not him!"

"That's because they made a mistake," Amanda said. "They saw a necklace and hit the man wearing it so they wouldn't have to kill him. Then, they shot the other man because they didn't notice that he was wearing a necklace, too. Chris didn't know that Romano had a necklace that looked like his. Romano only got it the night before. If Chris had known about it, he wouldn't have used the necklace as his signal."

Victoria stopped struggling and just stood there and cried. "He wouldn't do that! Chris wouldn't do that!"

"I think you suspected when you got his insurance policy," Amanda said. "It wasn't ordinary insurance, was it?"

"He didn't do that! I never asked him to do that! I wouldn't have asked him to do that . . . for me . . ." Victoria trailed off, sobbing.

"It wasn't their fault," Amanda repeated. "It wasn't yours, either. It was Chris's."


	19. Drawing Room Revelations

**Chapter 19: Drawing Room Revelations**

The Agency vans hadn't arrived yet, so they put Victoria in an empty room under guard. Lee had Georgia stay upstairs with Romano. Both of them had been through a terrible shock and needed to recover. The rest of them went back down to the drawing room to talk it over. Some of them nibbled on the French toast Cynthia's staff had made for breakfast, but Worth and Gordon didn't really feel like eating.

"I can't believe it," Worth kept saying. "Chris and Victoria!" He rubbed his injured arm.

Holding Victoria back had been a struggle for him, and Lee was amazed he'd been able to do it while his arm was still recovering from a gunshot wound. Worth had determination, Lee had to give him that.

Lee never ate breakfast anyway, so just sipped his coffee and listened to Amanda's explanation.

"That's why no one could figure out who the traitor was," Amanda said. "No one bothered to take a closer look at Chris or his activities because he was dead."

Gordon said sadly, "Victoria always seemed so calm, so together. Even after Chris's death."

"I think that was part of the problem," Amanda said sympathetically. "She bottled it all up. All her hurt, all her anger. Then, I think she also bottled up her suspicions."

"I wondered what you meant when you said that Victoria knew Chris was guilty," Worth said. "I could understand why she might want to cover it up if she knew that, but why go after Romano and Georgia, if she knew that neither of them was the traitor?"

"It's complicated," Amanda said, "and I can't be completely sure, but Victoria admitted to me that she and Chris weren't together the night before the mission. She didn't know where he was or what he was doing. That might have made her suspicious, but since he was the one killed and not Romano, that made her put all the blame on Romano instead. Then, there was her reaction to Chris's 'insurance policy.' I don't think it was insurance, I think the payoff from the smugglers arrived when Victoria was settling Chris's estate. But she couldn't accept the idea that he was the leak, that he would turn traitor for the sake of money. Even when the evidence told her that Chris was guilty, she tried to ignore it. It was easier for her to keep blaming someone else than to face the truth, even in her own mind. She loved Chris and wouldn't have wanted to think of him like that. She also would have blamed herself because she would have realized that she was the reason why Chris wanted the money."

Lee was always amazed at how Amanda was able to get inside other people's minds and understand their feelings.

"Chris was saving up money to leave MI6 and marry Victoria," Worth mused. "A large payoff from the smugglers could have set them up nicely."

"I knew that Romano wouldn't have needed to turn traitor for money because his family was already wealthy," Amanda explained. "Georgia told me that Romano didn't really even need to work."

"But how did you know that Victoria was the one who broke into Francine's room?" Worth asked.

"It occurred to me when I saw her nightgown," Amanda said. "But I wasn't really sure until I looked at Francine's door and remembered how difficult it is to read the names on the doors at night."

"What do you mean?" Francine asked.

"You're in the Peony room," Amanda explained. "Romano was in the Phoebe room. At night, with those dim lights in the hall, the two names probably looked alike. Victoria probably heard Romano say which room he was in, but on that first night, she might not have realized that he was actually on the third floor, so she just looked at the doors on the second floor and picked the one that she thought said, 'Phoebe.'"

"She could have killed me!" Francine realized. Worth reached out and took her hand to comfort her. This time, there was no ulterior motive, just concern.

"But you woke up, and she realized that she had the wrong room, so she ran off," Amanda said. "The next night, she got the right room, but Romano fought her off. Then, she heard what Georgia said about being the one who gave Romano his necklace, and she decided to go after her. She already blamed Romano for Chris's death, and in Victoria's mind, the necklace tied Georgia into the plot. She set it up so that the window alarm in her room would go off and distract the guards long enough for her to attack, just like she did last night with the window in the west wing to get the guards away from the main part of the house while she attacked Romano."

"Do you know what she used to do that?" Lee asked. "The magnetic contacts were attached with strong adhesive that no one should have been able to pry off with just their hands."

"I think she used nail polish remover," Amanda said.

"What?"

"The acetone!" Francine groaned, closing her eyes and putting a hand to her forehead. "That would probably do it."

"That's what I was thinking," Amanda said.

Billy said, "You'll have to explain that."

"Nail polish remover is made with acetone," Francine said. "Sometimes, it's nothing but acetone."

"And, like hairspray, it has many household uses," Amanda said. "It's a solvent. It can be used to remove all sorts of paints and inks and other stains that ordinary cleaners just won't budge. But, you have to be careful how you use it because it will dissolve certain substances like Styrofoam or plastic-"

"Or adhesives," Lee muttered.

"So, I think she just poured some on the window contact and waited for it to work," Amanda said. "It evaporates pretty quickly. I don't think she had to wait long. One time, I was trying to get some permanent marker off of one of Jamie's toys-"

"Housewife," Francine muttered.

"Anyway, it did the trick but damaged the toy," Amanda said. "I should have realized there was something funny when I saw nail polish remover among Victoria's toiletries but no nail polish."

"I had some in my toiletries bag," Francine said. "It's missing now. I noticed it last night, but I assumed that you borrowed it. She probably stole it from me."

"She certainly seemed to have an easy time getting into everyone's room," Billy said.

"Before she was my assistant," Gordon said, "she was actually a field agent, like Chris. Her specialties were tailing and lock-picking. The locks here were probably no challenge for her."

"And because she was always so quiet, always in the background, none of us really paid much attention to where she was and what she was doing," Francine said.

"That's why she was always so good at tailing," Gordon said. "I should have known that things were getting serious between her and Chris when she wanted to come in from the field. Before that, the risks never seemed to concern her."

"Romantic relationships get in the way in our line of work," Baudin said. "That's why I've decided to fire Romano and Georgia."

Lee and Amanda looked at each other uncomfortably.

"Don't you think that a little harsh, Rich?" Billy said. "After all, they weren't to blame for what happened."

"I know. I hate to do it, but complications like that can be deadly in our business. And this is the second time Romano's been reprimanded for that kind of thing."

"That's why I think you should wait and let him work on the next mission with me," Annette said suddenly.

"What?" Baudin said. "As I recall, you once said that you'd never work with him again if you could help it. You yourself called him immature and unprofessional."

Annette took a deep breath and said, "I know that he and I had problems the last time we worked together. We were in a relationship at the time, and it wasn't working out for either of us. But, I'm as much to blame for that as he was. In fact, I think I made it worse by trying to cover up for how I was really feeling until I finally just blew up at him. Romano is a good agent, and he has the experience we need to put together a new team for the next mission. Let him help one more time. After that . . . I have the feeling that he'll move on to other interests. Being a field agent isn't easy for a family man."

Lee and Amanda gave each other another brief glance. Lee looked away first. He had been having similar thoughts, but he needed more time to think it over.

"We could use his help," Baudin admitted.

"I'm going to need to assemble a new team as well," Gordon said softly. "I'm ashamed that my own people-"

"It wasn't your fault," Amanda said sympathetically.

"I'm keeping Worth, of course," Gordon said, looking over at Agent Worth. "You can't go into the field again for this assignment because your face is known, but it might be good for you to put in more office time. Planning strategy can teach you a little discipline."

Worth gave them all an embarrassed smile. Lee covered his own smile with his coffee cup. He hadn't told Gordon about Worth's stupid prank, and he wasn't going to. It would be enough for him to acknowledge the prank and apologize to Amanda and Francine in private. Worth wasn't a bad agent, and a dose of discipline might turn him into a better one. Francine would probably help with that.

"Now that we've solved the problem of the leak," Billy said, "I'd be willing to lend you some manpower. I'll put Francine in charge of assembling a suitable team."

Francine smiled at that. Oh, yes. She'd be around to teach Worth a thing or two.

"I don't suppose that you could give me Mr. Stetson, too?" Gordon asked. "He's a good field man, and Emily Farnsworth would certainly be glad to see him again."

It was an interesting offer, but even the prospect of seeing Emily again wasn't enough to attract Lee to this assignment. The romantic complications of this group's last mission and its tragic end still bothered Lee, and with his own romantic complications to consider . . .

"Mr. Stetson will be busy on other assignments closer to home," Billy said. He was still giving Lee knowing looks, and Lee knew that he was going to have to talk to Billy at some point.

"Excuse me," a voice said.

They all turned to see Albert standing in the doorway.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to show this to the ladies before they leave." Albert was holding a book in his hands.

"What's that?" Billy asked.

"A book of Charlotte's poems," Albert said, beaming. "It's a first edition. Since they enjoyed her portrait so much, I thought that I'd show them what she looked like in her later years, when her poems were first published."

Amanda and Francine got up to take a look at Albert's book. Lee got up, too, and peered over Amanda's shoulder.

At the beginning of the book, which was printed around 1930, there was a picture of a little old woman with wispy white hair and very dark eyes that looked a lot like Cynthia's.

"Huh," Lee said. A nice, grandmotherly old woman, as nice old grandmothers went.

"Lee . . ." Amanda said.

"What?"

"I think Mrs. Nicholson is right about Charlotte and the library."

Lee and Francine stared at Amanda, not quite daring to say what they were all thinking in front of the others.

Francine finally murmured, "You really are a Scorpio."


	20. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Amanda had never been so glad to see her boys as she was after she returned from her stay at Ransom Creek. She couldn't tell them what her business trip had been about, of course. The only person she could discuss that with was Lee, and they had talked about it all the way back home. Now, Amanda was just glad to hear what Philip and Jamie had done for Halloween.

"How was the haunted house?" she asked. "Did Philip manage to meet up with Linda?" Part of her wished that she could tell them that she'd stayed in a real haunted house, but maybe it was best that they didn't know that.

"Yeah. It was okay," Jamie said, "but pretty gross. I don't think I'm going to go back next year."

"I'm definitely not going back next year," Philip muttered.

"Why?" Amanda asked. "What happened?"

"Philip got scared, and Linda had to comfort him," Jamie said with a superior grin.

Philip didn't say anything. He didn't even try to call his brother any names or tell him off.

"Well, that just shows that Linda cares about you," Dotty said helpfully. "That's a good thing, right?"

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Amanda asked, brushing a hand across Philip's unruly hair.

Philip just shrugged.

"Philip saw a ghost," Jamie said, smirking. "He saw a ghost in the haunted house!"

"Shut up!" Philip snapped.

"Jamie," Amanda said, "why don't you help your grandmother make some hot chocolate?"

"I don't know where the marshmallows are."

"Come on," Dotty said, steering Jamie toward the kitchen. "We'll get it ready, and your mother will get the marshmallows."

When they were gone, Amanda put her arm around Philip and asked, "What happened, sweetheart? Did you see a ghost?"

"I don't know," Philip said. He kind of picked at his fingernails as if they had suddenly become really interesting.

"What did you see?" Amanda prodded.

"Well, we were standing in a hallway, near where Linda's brother was. He was dressed like a zombie, holding a fake leg that he pretended to gnaw on."

Amanda made a face. Jamie was right. The haunted house was as gross as she'd heard it was.

Some of the others screamed when he jumped out at us. I didn't. I knew it was just him." Philip allowed himself a proud smile at that. "Fake blood and stuff like that doesn't scare me at all."

"Then what happened?" Amanda asked gently.

"Well, I saw this little girl standing next to me. She was pretty young, and I was surprised that they even let her in. I thought maybe she was somebody's kid sister or something. But, she was crying, so I held out my hand and told her that she could hang onto me if she was scared." Philip stopped and bit his lip.

"And?" Amanda asked.

"She disappeared. She vanished! She was just gone!" Philip threw out his empty hands in front of him. "Mom, I swear she was there, but then she was just gone! I looked all over, and she wasn't there!"

"Didn't anyone else see her?" Amanda asked.

"No. I asked them where she went, and they didn't know what I was talking about. They all thought I was crazy or imagining things. At least, Jamie and Linda thought that. Dad said with all those people around, it was hard to be sure who was where. But, I wasn't imagining it. It was the weirdest feeling."

Amanda could relate to that.

"I think I saw a ghost once," Amanda said. "It was kind of like that."

"You did?" Philip's eyes widened. "You always told us there was no such thing."

"I'm kind of rethinking that," Amanda said. "But, if I saw what I think I saw, it wasn't so bad. It was just a nice little old lady. Like the little girl you saw, she was there one minute and gone the next."

"What did she do?" Philip asked.

"Nothing much," Amanda said. "She didn't even talk to me. But, she didn't hurt me, either. Did the little girl say or do anything to you?"

"No," Philip said. "She barely even looked at me before she vanished."

Amanda nodded. "If there are any ghosts, I don't think they're harmful. Maybe, sometimes, they just need a little attention. They're just a part of the past that needs to remind us that they're still there."

"The girl I saw just wanted attention?" Philip still looked worried.

"Maybe. Once you paid attention to her and offered her some comfort, she didn't need to be there anymore, so she just . . . left."

"Maybe." Philip wasn't entirely reassured.

"Sometimes, just acknowledging someone and letting them know you care is enough," Amanda said gently.

"Linda probably thinks I'm a coward," Philip said sadly. "She probably won't want to even talk to me anymore because she thinks I'm a wimp."

"I don't think so," Amanda said. "Jamie said she comforted you. Did she?"

"She held my hand the whole rest of the time," Philip admitted. "That was kind of nice."

"There you go!" Amanda said. "She wouldn't have done that if she thought that you were just a wimp. She must like you, and that's a good thing, right?"

"Yeah." Philip smiled a little.

"Lots of guys have to go to great lengths to get girls to pay that much attention to them," Amanda confided. "All you had to do was just be yourself and admit that you were a little scared. That isn't bad, either, is it?"

"No." Philip was looking more cheerful.

Amanda kissed him on the forehead. "Go and enjoy your hot chocolate. Tomorrow, you can give Linda a call."

"Okay. Thanks, mom!"

Amanda stayed up later than the others, finishing her hot chocolate and reading a book that had nothing to do with ghosts and creepy old houses. She wasn't really surprised to hear a tap on the window. In fact, she'd been hoping that she would. She went to the back door and let Lee in.

"Hi!" he said. "Everyone in bed?"

"Yes," she said, giving him a kiss. "I'm glad you're here."

"Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine. I'm just glad to see you."

They settled down on the couch.

"How was the haunted house? The one the kids went to, I mean."

"Philip thinks he saw a real ghost."

Lee laughed.

"I believe him."

"Sorry," he said. "I don't know what you saw in the library, but I can believe that it might have been a ghost. Maybe being psychic runs in your family. I'm just glad that you're home now, safe and sound."

"What's going to happen to Victoria?" Amanda asked soberly.

"Gordon's taking her back to London," Lee said. "She needs serious help, and they can give it to her there. Now that she's starting to accept that she almost killed two innocent people to avenge Chris, she's feeling even more guilty."

"Poor thing."

"Yeah. If it makes you feel better, things are working out well for Cynthia. Even though the first conference she hosted turned out to be more eventful than she thought, that wasn't her fault. She and Senator Kahler are going ahead with their wedding plans, and he has persuaded her to accept some money from him as a wedding present. They're going to use it to improve the house, install a better security system, update all the door locks, stuff like that. I told them to be sure to fix the lights on the second floor hallway."

"The old ones are bad, but they did save a man's life. Victoria would have gotten Romano that first night if she hadn't gotten confused."

"True. And in the meantime, Cynthia has decided to take her fiance's suggestion and write the story about Charlotte the Spy. She says it's going to be a romantic story with a happy ending. She's had enough of ghosts."

"Good," Amanda said, snuggling up to Lee.

The two of them cuddled together on the couch in silence for awhile.

Then, Lee said, "Amanda, I've been thinking. Well, all that stuff that Baudin said about romance not being good in this business . . ."

"Lee," Amanda said, "things are different for us than they were for Chis and Victoria. They're also different from Romano and Georgia. We're different people."

"I know," Lee said. "But, it does occur to me that someday . . . we might want to get out of this business."

"Lee . . ." Amanda knew that couldn't have been easy for him to say. He'd dedicated a good part of his life to being a spy, and he was excellent at it.

"We don't need to decide anything today," Lee said. "I'm happy with things being what they are, with our relationship being what it is. But, I was just thinking that someday . . ." He trailed off.

He didn't tell Amanda about Billy spotting her coming out of his room. Billy hadn't actually admitted what he'd seen yet, but he hadn't stopped giving Lee significant looks. Earlier that evening, when the two of them were discussing the case, Billy confirmed that Romano and Georgia were leaving the CIA to get married as soon as their next mission was over. Then, they were going to New York to help his father with his restaurant. His family was thinking they might even open a second location somewhere else, like California, and let Romano manage it. Georgia had also gotten Romano interested in charity work as another way to make a difference in the world.

"It will keep them busy," Billy said, "but it's not a bad line of work for a family man."

"I suppose not," Lee said carefully.

"Then again, as long as you're with the right person, there are many decent opportunities to explore." Billy gave Lee another significant look.

"I'll keep it in mind," Lee said, keeping his voice neutral. Neither of them said any more about it, but Lee had the feeing that the topic would come up again later.

He and Amanda had worked hard to establish their partnership, and Amanda was only now turning into a regular agent. Lee wanted to give her more of a chance to develop professionally and enjoy her career before they settled down to a quieter life. He wasn't anxious to give up his career in the field yet, either. And he still had to establish some kind of relationship with Amanda's sons . . .

"Someday . . ." Amanda said dreamily.

Lee gave her another kiss, content to enjoy the moment for what it was. Someday could wait.

 **The End**

 **Happy Halloween!**


End file.
